Hot Docs Review: The Demons of Eden

In 2005, Mexican journalist Lydia Cacho released a book called Demons of Eden. The text exposed the horrific world of statutory rape and pedophilia in Mexico, focusing specifically on two Lebanese-Mexican gangsters, Jean Succar Kuri and Kamel Nacif Borge. But Cacho had done more than just write a book -- she faced a vehement backlash in her attempt to bring the horrors these children faced to justice. It is a powerful story, but unfortunately Alejandra Islas' new documentary based on this struggle fails to live up to its subject matter.

Granted, there are many pieces to this story -- the world of the victimized children, the pedophiles and their personal and business pursuits, the connections these men have with political figures throughout Mexico, what that meant for Cacho, and the writer's own personal history. Just keeping it all straight is work enough, but as it is presented, through a melange of quick transitions and fancy graphics, Demons of Eden is a confusing and muddled look at a brave and inspiring fight for justice.

The film's strength comes from Cacho -- her passion to help the children and to improve women's rights in Mexico, and her determination to continue on that path no matter what challenges face her. As secretly recorded phone calls play out, revealing a plot to have her raped and mistreated in prison for her book, we're shown the animosity in the men she exposed, and it becomes quickly apparent just how strong and noteworthy Cacho is.

But even her strength can't live up to the presentation of this story. There are a number of unnecessary dossier-like graphics that serve to introduce the dark figures in the film, but matched with overlapping voiceovers and muddled subtitles, it's hard to tell who is who and what is what. There are subtitles for the lyrics, flowing into voiceovers, that then flow into other interviews, all without a clear differentiation. It's an almost non-stop onslaught of words, names, and information.

Sadly, however, it isn't just the how the information is relayed, but what Islas chooses to discuss. While it is all at least vaguely connected, together it screens like an unorganized jumble desperately in need of a strict editor and outline. There are not only the stories from the book, and how its release impacted Cacho and those implicated, but also discussion of women's rights in Mexico, the mistreatment of workers, and how the "Denim King" Borge's business pollutes the environment. If done right, this information could fit into the context of the film, but as it stands, it sticks out like momentary and confusing dalliances from the plot.

It's unfortunate, really, because if the film was filtered through a strict editorial eye, it could have lived up to its subject matter. Instead, it just struggles to do it justice. Still, the story is an important one -- The Demons of Eden reveals the struggles many Mexican women and children face, and how corrupt some levels of Mexican government are. But most importantly, it shows Cacho, one of the many people working to change it.