This film will never turn up as an in-flight feature on Mexicana Airlines. It shows the gritty, often ugly reality of Mexico City. Its tale of corruption and intrigue is nothing special. But the film captures the essence of Mexico City --- crowds, bustle, poverty, pollution, crime, machismo, antiquity and always, "la mordida" --- with compelling cinematography and a hauntingly effective Spanish guitar musical background. The camera angles are brilliant. The warm tones of the colour are perfect for the subject. There are many classic closeups of Mexican faces that alone make the film worthwhile. You almost smell the "pollo con aroz." And the amount of Spanish dialogue without subtitles underlines the frustratiions of the film's unilingual main character as she searches for her brother in an alien, puzzling and hostile environment. (Whatever did happen to him by the way?) The plot isn't new. Innocent American searches for missing ( )boyfriend ( )husband ( )wife ( )son ( )daughter ( )other in corrupt foreign capital with no help from double dealing US embassy. But this one is done superbly.
