David Zonana's chilling drama, "Heroic," premiering at the Sundance Film Festival, is set in a Mexican military academy where 18-year-old Luis (Santiago Sandoval Carbajal) is a "colt" (young cadet) training to become an officer. Luis quickly resents the dehumanizing nature of the academy, and wants out, but he can't give up the money and insurance he gets to support his diabetic mother.
While he bonds with some of his fellow colts, Luis is trapped when Sergeant Sierra (Fernando Cuautle) takes a liking to him. Sierra asks Luis to accompany him and some other sergeants on an "errand." Luis' participation gets him privileges — like missing out on a hazing initiation — but it also puts Luis in an untenable position where he feels powerless. Luis is asked to paddle one of his fellow cadets in one scene, and he witnesses a colt being physically abused in another. Things get increasingly worse. How Luis copes with the pressures he faces and the difficult situations he finds himself in build, inexorably to the film's shocking conclusion.
