Mexico’s national guard has been urging its troops to go to see Héroes, a rousingly patriotic film about a 19th-century US invasion, in an apparent attempt to drown out the similarly named Heroico – a film which paints a much less flattering picture of the armed forces. Héroes tells the story of the Battle of Chapultepec during the 1846-48 Mexican-American war and the “Child Heroes” – six cadets who refused to retreat and instead fought to the death. The last of them supposedly leapt from the ramparts holding the Mexican flag, to prevent its capture. Heroico, by contrast, is about a cadet who enlists in the Heroico military college and is put through physical and psychological abuse to mould him into a good soldier. It has been compared to Full Metal Jacket, Stanley Kubrick’s film in which US recruits being drilled for the Vietnam war reach mental breakdown. But the Heroico military college is a real place, and the film is based on real testimonies. The main actor, Santiago Sandoval, is a former cadet himself. In an interview with Fórmula Noticias, he said: “What happens in the film is just a fraction of what happens in reality.” Since then, videoclips have emerged purporting to show abuse taking place at military academies. Screenshots have also emerged of WhatsApp communications in which national guard commanders appeared to encourage their subordinates to watch the patriotic Héroes. Animal Político, a Mexican news website, contacted members of the national guard who verified the leak. The national guard is technically a civilian police force, but the great majority of its leadership and members come from Mexico’s military. The film’s publicity has been boosted by the advocacy of several prominent critics of the government, including Denise Dresser, a political analyst with millions of followers online. They argue the film is a necessary insight into the workings of the military, as the current administration hands over increasing amounts of responsibility and money to the institution. Mexico’s armed forces now play a greater role in domestic security, and also oversee major infrastructure projects, the development of tourism and customs management, among other things. “[Heroico] opens the black box that is military education and leads us to ask if we must protect ourselves from those who are supposedly protecting us,” wrote Dresser. President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has defended the greater role of the military in civil life by saying it will help fight corruption. López Obrador has not commented on the film itself, but has said there is “a smear campaign” against the reputation of the armed forces. The military has not issued a public statement regarding the film.