Juan Manuel Bernal Movies
- 2011
A handful of teenagers take up crime for fun and profit in this gritty drama with comic elements from Mexico. Taciturn Negus (Gabino Rodriguez), softhearted Chale (Juan Pablo de Santiago), aggressive Sapo (Angel Sosa) and tomboy Chata (Paulina Avalos) are four teenagers who live in a run-down urban neighborhood in Mexico. Most days, their biggest project is simply finding something to do; between regular rounds of skateboarding, pot smoking and simply hanging out, the four are bored and looking for excitement as well as a sense of purpose. As it happens, all of them could use some extra money, and when someone suggests they plan a robbery of the local movie theater, all four are up for the challenge. The friends plot a surprisingly elaborate heist and turn out to be better criminals than anyone would have expected. However, when money comes into the picture, the relationship between the teenagers begins to change, and their big adventure makes problems for them that have nothing to do with the police. Asalto Al Cine (aka The Cinema Hold-Up) was the first dramatic feature from director Iria Gomez Conchiero. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Deceived by her boyfriend and weary of jumping straight into another "serious" relationship, a young designer decides to play the field by registering at an online dating service in this romantic comedy from Mexico. Martha is a talented young designer with bad luck in love. After discovering that her boyfriend is cheating on her, she dumps the chump and joins an Internet dating service called "Tired of Kissing Frogs." After all, men aren't looked down upon for exploring their options, so why should a single girl like Martha deny herself the fun of going out on a few frivolous dates? Before long, Martha is partying into the small hours at some of Mexico City's hottest nightclubs. But when Martha meets the man of her dreams, she can't decide whether to sacrifice her freedom in the name of true love, or keep having fun and risk passing up the love of a lifetime. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ana Serradilla, Miguel Rodarte, (more)
Ana (Aitana Sanchez-Gijon) is a Spanish dealer in ersatz Mayan relics. Crossing the border between Texas and Mexico, she is taken in for questioning by Mendizabel (Jesus Ochoa), a sleazy border officer with a major jones for his captive. Eventually Ana is freed but she's destitute and soon hitching her way through Mexico. She's picked up by Aurelia (Tiare Scanda), a young mother who has run away from her drug dealer boyfriend Saul (Martin Altomaro), hoping to build a better life for her two children. Although Ana and Aurelia have little common ground -- Ana is aloof and sophisticated, while Aurelia is uneducated and practical -- the two women ultimately form a bond of solidarity and camaraderie that is put to the test when both Saul and Mendizabel catch up with them. Sin Dejar Huella was shown at the 2000 San Sebastian Film Festival, where it earned the title of "Thelmita y Luisita" in the Spanish press. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi
- Starring:
- Aitana Sanchez-Gijon, Tiare Scanda, (more)
A female documentary director's latest project is to capture her sister's marital difficulties on film in hopes of shedding light on the travails of modern romance. Ostensibly, the film aspires to view the problems from a contemporary female perspective, but the story's end belies its basis in traditional Mexican morality. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
This Mexican drama is a faithful adaptation of Nobel-laureate Naguib Mahfouz's novel, only it is set in contemporary Mexico City instead of 1940s Cairo. The film is comprised of three overlapping "chapters" that come together in the fourth chapter. Each segment, centering on a different character, takes place at the same time in a rundown neighborhood. The disparate characters all have one thing in common--none of them get what they want. Chava, the son of tavern-owner Rutilio, wants to go to the US. The fiercely independent and beautiful Alma is thinking about marrying a wealthy shop keeper. The impoverished young barber Abel is in love with Alma. Then there is the spinster Susanita who owns an apartment house and spends her spare time involved in unhealthy love affairs. After killing his father's mistress in a fit of moral outrage, Chava ends up on the lam for two years. Abel takes off for a long time and Alma ends up becoming a drug-addicted prostitute whom Abel cannot save. Susanita gets married to young Guicho and learns that he is robbing her. She is just about to toss him out when she discovers that her really loves her after all. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
The violent lives of Mexican street kids are examined in this intense Mexican social drama that centers upon the friendship between two adolescents. Mauricio has come from Tijuana to Mexico city to visit El Boy. El Boy teaches Mauricio about life in the streets of Mexico's capital. El Boy kills a security guard at a small market and must leave the city and hide out. The opportunistic Mauricio betrays his friend by impersonating El Boy and selling Boy's aunt's mortgage papers to a fence. Still pretending to be El Boy, he then gets involved with a young woman who stays at the property. Unfortunately, El Boy returns and a major confrontation ensues. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Juan Manuel Bernal, Veronica Merchant, (more)
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