Alan Chávez Movies
Three teenagers are wary about holding up a rather disturbing family tradition in this unusual blend of horror, suspense, and family drama. Alfredo (Francisco Barreiro), Julian (Alan Chávez), and Sabina (Paulina Gaitan) live with their father (Humberto Yáñez) and mother (Carmen Beato) in a run-down section of Mexico City. When father dies unexpectedly during a visit to a shopping mall, it throws the family into chaos, but not just for the usual reasons. The family has an unusual custom in which father would capture a stranger and bring them home, after which the family would kill the stranger in an elaborate ritual and then eat their flesh. With father gone, mother insists that it's time the children stepped up and took over the rite, but Alfredo is too timid to find a proper victim, Julian is bold but too clumsy, and Sabina is thought to be poorly suited for what's always been a man's job. As the brothers try to learn to do things the way dad once did, a police detective (Jorge Zárate) is trying to get to the bottom of a long string of disappearances in the area. The first feature film from writer and director Jorge Michel Grau, Somos Lo Que Hay (aka We Are What We Are) was also one of the final films for Alan Chávez, who played Julian; he died in September 2009 at the age of 18 when an argument with friends led to gunfire. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Francisco Barreiro, Alan Chávez, (more)
A spiritual journey takes a strange and disturbing turn in this drama from Mexican filmmaker Rodrigo Pla. In 1928, Mexico is in a state of political overthrow, with government forces reacting with savage violence against anyone they imagine may harbor revolutionary sympathies. After Elias (Mario Zaragoza) and his wife become parents of a baby boy, their attempt to travel into town to have the child baptized is mistaken for the advance of rebel troops, and soon their village is raised by military police. As Elias and his family run for their lives, he is visited by a vision of the Lord, who condemns him for putting his children and neighbors in harm's way, and Elias is convinced he must atone. Elias leads his family into the desert and he begins building a church, convinced this is the only way he can redeem his family in the eyes of God. But it soon becomes obvious Elias's children do not share his convictions, and the father's devotion begins to resemble madness. Desierto Adentro (aka The Desert Within) was an official selection at the 2008 Guadalajara Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Mario Zaragoza, Diego Cataño, (more)
- 2007
A used car part vendor and his fourteen year-old nephew currently living in Mexico dream of emigrating to Chicago and starting a new life in director Aaron Frenandez's entry into the 2007 Montreal World Film Festival. Realizing that they will need more money than they currently have if they hope to hire the pollero who promises to spirit them across the border, Uncle Jaime schools young Ivan in the highly lucrative business of stolen car parts. Not only does young Ivan prove particularly adept to filling his uncle's shady "invoice orders," but soon the young boy has even invited his best friend Efrain to help out around the shop. Just as Ivan begins to imagine the Windy City breeze blowing though his hair, however, he is heartbroken to discover that Uncle Jaime hasn't been entirely honest about his plans. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Eduardo Granados, Alan Chávez, (more)
At a time when the growing chasm between the rich and the poor appears to be slowly tearing Mexico - and many other Latin countries - apart, first time filmmaker Rodrigo Plá highlights just how isolationism breeds fear in many wealthy communities. Alejandro (Daniel Tovar) lives with his father Daniel (Daniel Giménez Cacho) and his mother Mariana Maribel Verdú) in an isolated community known as La Zona. La Zona is home to the most privileged citizens in Mexico, but with all of the gates and closed circuit cameras it feels more like a million dollar prison than a typical neighborhood. Eventually, a group of disadvantaged teenagers manage to break into La Zona. As the members of the community scramble to protect their families at any cost, one of the teenaged burglars, a frightened boy named Miguel (Alan Chávez), seeks cover in the basement of Alejandro's home as his friends scatter. Later, when Alejandro discovers the young fugitive, the privileged boy's growing empathy for the petty thief and murder suspect leads him to question the values imposed on him by his father as well as the many other isolationists who have taught him to fear his fellow countrymen. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Daniel Jiménez Cacho, Maribel Verdú, (more)
Emotionally distraught following the death of his mother, a young man from a stable background suddenly finds his life falling to ruin in this drama from director Gerardo Tort. When Gabriel's mother died, it seemed like everything just fell apart; his brother abandoned the family and his sister grew more combative than ever before. But just when it seemed as if his life couldn't get any worse, Gabriel found comfort in the company of a pretty local girl named Cielo. Ceilo's brother "Gato" is a notorious street punk, and soon forces Gabriel into a life of crime. Now, Gabriel is about to learn just how dangerous life on the streets can truly be. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Paulina Gaytán, Alan Chávez, (more)
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