A very poor, crippled man barely ekes out a living while his mother attempts to care for him. He is given a crippled cock to eat, but nurses it to health and some success in fighting. He rejects the offer of a professional gambler to win illegally. The gambler defeats him and then becomes his mentor in cock fighting and cards. A Mexican Ava Gardner sings in the settings where he is and lives with the gambler. Eventually she leaves the gambler, taking his luck to the poor man who then is vary successful materially, but never emotionally. One dramatic sexual scene and later a more degraded one. A daughter from infancy until early adulthood. A primitive life well portrayed. A story to see repeatedly.

This is a fine adaptation of one of the few stories of Juan Rulfo, a fine Mexican novelist who, unfortunately wrote only a handful of pieces.

The movie does a fine job in translating a very complex story about a professional cock-fight trainer and gambler who, after a twist of fate, finds his luck, both good and bad, in a beautiful female singer portrayed by gorgeous Blanca Guerra at her best.

As usual, movie adaptations of novels lost a lot of the original richness, but even taking into consideration that loss, this movie makes a wonderful job in portraying not only the cockfighting and gambling world in rural Mexico, but also in reflecting and criticizing the society involved in such practices.

Not only that, see after the multilayered role of Blanca Guerra as Bernarda, La Caponera. First, her relations with the cockfighters-gamblers. Then, the relation with her daughter.

Arturo Ripstein's used real locations in central rural Mexico, so the movie has a real-life feel. Some shots are Eisenstein's like, although since it was filmed in color it is hard to fully appreciate them.

A classic tale about the allure of wealth to the poor, whose enticement can lure them away from everyman's birthright, self-respect, appreciation of family, and the enjoyment of simple pleasures. The director, Arturo Ripstein, while restrained in dialog and acting, uses details in his settings to powerfully suggest to the audience what they will soon discover from the actors themselves.

* minor spoiler*

I don't know why it has no professional reviews listed, it is a fine little gem of a film. Not in the sense of length, running 2 hours, but in the sense of a simple, yet potent story. It is set in rural Mexico, where we see the average person living a squalid life, even a much admired large house of a successful gambler who is farther along on the conveyor belt of success, looks dirty and disheveled from the outside, and has a earth floor and unattractive furnishings on the inside. We visit several small town farmers markets/fairs that must be on the entertainers D-list, meaning Desperate; one food vendor, one band and singer, a few rides; the biggest attraction is a hosted cock fight, many of the roosters brought by the local residents.

Dionisio Pinzón (Ernesto Gómez Cruz) is a poor, middle aged man living in a one room, earth wall shack with his infirm mother. It is late in the night, Dionisio and his mother are both sleeping in blankets on the dirt floor, next to an empty, gleaming brass bed with new bedding. The light that fills the darkness is a bizarre red, like the inside of a film darkroom, which we discover is from a large, buzzing, Christmas wreath you might find in a commercial bar, hanging high on one wall. We have no hint why they choose to sleep on the floor or whether it is near Christmas time, and we never find out, but what is suggested, is there are strong cultural cross-currents at work. Dionisio is enticed with what he thinks represents money & success in an obvious, nouveau rich way. Yet after a long string of good fortune, what he pursues invariably disappoints him.

His co-star, La Caponera, (Blanca Guerra) is also on a journey of mis-fulfilment; she was an orphan who came of age already on the move, living by her wits and her attraction. Like Dionisio, she is searching too, not for money, but a secure relationship, and like Dionisio, she chooses the illusion of what she wants, rather than the real thing, to her deep disappointment.

The acting by both Cruz and Guerra is powerful, yet controlled and there is a wonderful chemistry pairing Dionisio's timid hunger and La Caponera's playful sensuality; however the film is for those who can appreciate a slow revelation of character, subtle humor, and a distinctly different cultural setting.

coreydv, 2009, Feb