In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case (A plena luz: El caso Narvarte) is a true crime documentary film directed by Alberto Arnaut Estrada and produced by Diego Enrique Osorno and covers the corrupt investigation into the murders of five individuals, namely, photojournalist Ruben Espinosa, activist Nadia Vera, domestic worker Alejandra Negrete, Colombian model Mile Martin and makeup artist Yesenia Quiroz in 2015.
Netflix’s description of the documentary reads:
This documentary unveils evidence of corruption in the investigation into the murder of five people in the Narvarte neighborhood of Mexico City in 2015.
– In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
It’s almost always infuriating and mind-numbing to watch stories such as In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case. The showcase of violence and total disregard for human rights and justice almost feel like a dystopian future ruled by authoritarians. The fact that the incidents almost always take place sometimes in the past and that the victims have still not received justice can fill even the bravest of hearts with fear and uncertainty.
The true-crime documentary is one such watch; it left me baffled that something as horrendous as 5 murders could just take place in broad daylight, and no one would bat an eye. The political background of the murders, described wonderfully and in detail in the movie, adds an extra layer of shock and fear for everyone watching with a clear message – if you speak up against the unjust practices of the law, you will be silenced.
The saddest thing is even after 7 (going on 8) years, this is the reality in many countries and becoming so in others. It’s infuriating and fear-inducing to think that if you say something against those in power, you can be executed. The story can be rewritten such that you won’t get justice or sympathy, and in turn, you will be victimised and blamed even! This isn’t just me talking; all of this is shown carefully in In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case and a detail we can all, more or less, relate to in our lives as well.
Along with some gruesome crime scene photos and videos of our victims and their fiery personalities, we also see some very inventive recreation scenes that are both new to Netflix’s true crime doc and, honestly, somewhere extremely uncomfortable. Sure, it’s new. But man, watching milky-while adults wearing wigs and whatnot walking around and recreating crime scenes might just give me nightmares, if nothing else.
It also feels a bit unnecessary. I liked the miniature crime scene reenactments – not only are they cute, but they are new. However, this full-fledged live-action recreation is uncomfortable and unnecessary, and I personally squirmed in my seat when I watched it going on for too long.
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With that out of the way, the doc does a fantastic job at getting the voices of the victims and that of their families and friends out on an international platform. Although it’s been a few years, our victims and their contributions haven’t been forgotten. The people they were and their zeal towards life were almost inspirational and will make you want to take a stand against the injustices happening around you.
Summing Up: In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case
In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case is a hard-hitting watch that will leave you with more questions than answers. Were the perpetrators caught? Was justice served? Well, I guess we can simply look around us to figure out how this sad tale ends.
In Broad Daylight: The Narvarte Case is streaming on Netflix.
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