Rating: 8.53 from 17 votes.
Loading...18 With a Bullet
18 With a Bullet chronicles the activities of the 18th Street gang in El Salvador. Originating as a Los Angeles–based street gang comprising Latinos, it expanded rapidly in El Salvador during the 1990s as gang members were deported from the US and brought violence back home.
The film follows the gang as it combats its bitter rival, MS-13, for control of territory in the Salvadoran capital, revealing the daily trials and tribulations of its members. Slappy, a veteran gang member, is filmed while on the run from the police on homicide charges. Another, a younger member, proclaims that he loves his gang more than his own mother.
18 With a Bullet contains some troubling scenes, including one of a young woman being beaten as part of her initiation, and another of a gang member receiving similar punishment for breaking a rule. However, the most troubling aspect of the documentary is the pervasive sense of hopelessness, which reflects the bleak reality of the gang members’ lives.
