FILM TITLE: EL MARIACHI DIRECTOR: ROBERT RODRIGUEZ COUNTRY: MEXICO 1992 CINEMATOGRAPHY: ROBERT RODRIGUEZ CAST: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gomez, Reinol Martinez, Peter Marquandt SUPER FEATURES: Nice..... well done..... shows what desire can do that money can't buy!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Some films are not great, but they display a desire to do well, and the detail that could make them great. El Mariachi, is nicely done, with no budget to speak off ( hell, a Hollywood meal for a week for a star would cost at least twice the amount this film cost... ), but its ability to dedicate its style, and well designed continuity of the director, make this film work from the very beginning.
It is a bit of a comedy, so it seems at first, but slowly works its way into a serious film. The new visitor in town gets mixed up by accident with a drug dealer, and the accidental mis-match almost costs him his life were it not for his instincts and ability to walk out of trouble. In the process he befriends a young lady who has been kept in business by a rival drug lord just so he can not only get to her, but keep his eyes on his rival. The young mariachi is trying to find a job just playing his guitar and singing... and the gun toting drug dealer carries a guitar case with a few guns to take care of his business.
While many films take a lot of money to get everything done, this is the quintessential student film, if you will, in that the director is also the writer, and the cinematographer. Were he at UCLA, or at the USC film school, he would get a heck of a passing grade just for getting his project done ( who cares about the other grades when the competition alone would prevent it from getting done...!!! ) and delivered. It is an excellent first start, and shows a promising director in the works. He deserves a budget and a studio to back him for a few films.
The film itself is not great.... it is just there, and consistent. It isn't slick.... just filmed. It has no great looking actresses or dolls, just real women.... it doesn't have a slick soundtrack.... just a few songs on the guitar of the lead actor. What else does one want from a film...???
3 1/2 GIBLOONS
Copyright (c) Pedro Sena 1994 Member of the Internet Movie Critics Association
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