Mezcal (2006) Reviews

A handful of desperate characters sort out the loose ends of their lives in a place as run down as their lives in this drama from Mexico. Parian is a dingy town forgotten by progress, where locals who are down on their luck drown their sorrows at the village tavern. One of the regulars is Laura (Ana Graham), who has been trying to finds out what's become of her child and spouse who've mysteriously disappeared. Another steady customer, Ismael (Ricardo Blume) shot a young man five decades earlier, and has come to town hoping to mend fences with the victim's still-grieving brother. Antonio (Dagoberto Gama) tries to drink away the memory of the wife who abandoned him and has left him lonely and without a child to carry his name. As the barkeep doles out liquor and sinks deeper into the collective depression around her, a powerful rainstorm strands the customers in the bar, where emotions soon rise to a fever pitch. Mezcal received its world premiere at the 2006 Karlovy Very Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi