Bandidas 2006  PG-13, 93 min.
Genre: Action / Comedy / Drama
Director: Joachim Roenning, Espen Sandberg
Cast: Penelope Cruz, Salma Hayek, Steve Zahn, Dwight Yoakam, Denis Arndt, Audra Blaser, Sam Shepard, Gary Cervantes, Joseph D. Reitman, Ernesto Gomez Cruz
Determined to protect Mexico in the early 1900s from American Tyler Jackson (Dwight Yoakam) who is taking over their land, Sara Sandoval (Salma Hayek) and Maria Alvarez (Penelope Cruz) join forces. As bandidas, they rob banks and use the stolen money to help poor peasants in their effort to rid Mexico of evil.
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The Crime of Father Amaro 2002  R, 120 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Carlos Carrera
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Sancho Gracia, Ana Claudia Talancon, Angelica Aragon, Luisa Huertas, Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Gaston Melo, Damian Alcazar, Andres Montiel, Gerardo Moscoso, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Veronica Langer
This film, based on an 1875 Portuguese novel, features Gael Garcia Bernal in the role of a newly ordained priest, Father Amaro, who is sent to a small, Mexican town to assist an elderly priest, Father Benito (Sancho Gracia), and to look into the activities of the town's other priests. It isn't long before Amaro falls in love with 16-year-old Amelia (Ana Claudia Talancon). As if this were not enough, Padre Benito has major drug connections as well as a mistress of his own–Amelia's mother, Sanjuanera (Angelica Aragon).
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El Norte 1983   R, 135 min.
Genre: Drama / Adventure / Thriller
Director: Gregory Nava
Cast: Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, David Villalpando, Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Alicia del Lago, Heraclio Zepeda, Stella Quan, Trinidad Silva, Tony Plana, Lupe Ontiveros, Abel Franco, Diane Cary, Mike Gomez, Christina Kokubo, Ronald G. Joseph, Enrique Castillo
In this poignant story, two Guatemalans, Rosa and Enrique Xuncax (Zaide Silvia Gutierrez and David Villalpando), head for the U.S. border after their father is murdered. They make their journey across the U.S./Mexican border and end up living lives as illegal immigrants in Los Angeles. Although they are in constant fear of deportation, they struggle to make a living and don't give up their dream of the chance for a better life. 1 User Review
| User Review |
| | An exquisite movie! | 10/18/2006 | | I saw the movie when it opened in Santa Barbara in 1983. I have been trying to find a copy, off and on ever since. The imagery, the reflections, the insight into North and South American cultures are extraordinary. |
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Herod's Law 2000 R, 120 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Luis Estrada
Cast: Damian Alcazar, Pedro Armendariz Jr., Leticia Huijara, Eduardo Lopez Rojas, Salvador Sanchez, Isela Vega, Alex Cox, Guillermo Gil, Luis de Icaza, Juan Carlos Colombo, Manuel Ojeda, Ernesto Gomez Cruz
In 1949, a loyal party member–junkyard custodian Juan Vargas (Damian Alcazar)–is appointed mayor of a small Mexican town where corruption runs rampant. It doesn't take long before Juan learns and adopts the already-accepted process of bribes, abuse, and blackmail as the methods to accomplish what he wants for his town.
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Midaq Alley 1995 N/R, 140 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Jorge Fons
Cast: Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Maria Rojo, Salma Hayek, Bruno Bichir, Delia Casanova, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Claudio Obregon, Juan Manuel Bernal, Margarita Sanz, Abel Woolrich
A 1947 novel by Nobel prizewinner Naguib Mahfouz is translated from 1940s' Cairo to modern Mexico City with excellent results. The story revolves around several people of a close-knit Mexico City neighborhood. Their stories are intertwined into excellent film fare: a middle-aged father and cantina owner is attracted to a young man, a beautiful woman has trouble waiting for her lover who has fled to the U.S., and a homely landlady falls in love.
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The Realm of Fortune 1986  N/R, 132 min.
Genre: Foreign / Drama
Director: Arturo Ripstein
Cast: Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Blanca Guerra, Alejandro Parodi, Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, Margarita Sanz, Ernesto Yanez, Alberto Estrella, Luisa Huertas, Eduardo Lopez Rojas, Ignacio Retes
This is the tale of the rise and fall of a mentally weak peasant who, at the story's beginning, lives with his mother and reports the news while walking the town. He also announces cock fights, a sport he loves. He is given an near-dead cock and makes it into a great fighter, which, in turn, makes him rich. But what goes up must come down, sometimes with tragic results.
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| 1. Bandidas (2006)
2. The Crime of Father Amaro (2002)
3. El Norte (1983)
4. Herod's Law (2000)
5. Midaq Alley (1995)
6. The Realm of Fortune (1986)
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