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El callejón de los milagros

 
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El Callejón De Los Milagros

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El Callejón De Los Milagros
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  • Director: Jorge Fons
  • AMG Rating: starstar
  • Genre: Drama
  • Movie Type: Urban Drama
  • Themes: Drug Addiction, Prostitutes, Down on Their Luck
  • Main Cast: Juan Manuel Bernal, Bruno Bichir, Salma Hayek, Margarita Sanz
  • Release Year: 1995
  • Country: MX
  • Run Time: 140 minutes

Plot

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, All Movie Guide

Cast

Daniel Jiménez Cacho - Jose Luis; Ernesto Gómez Cruz - Don Rutilio; María Rojo - Dona Cata; Abel Woolrich - Zacarias; Delia Casanova - Eusebia; Gina Morett - Dona Flor; Claudio Obregón - Don Fidel; Margarita Sanz - Susanita; Juan Manuel Bernal - Chava; Bruno Bichir - Abel; Luis Felipe Tovar - Guicho; Salma Hayek - Alma

Credit

Jorge Fons - Director, Carlos Savage - Editor, Lucia Alvarez - Composer (Music Score), Lucia Alvarez - Songwriter, Carlos Marcovich - Cinematographer, Alfredo Ripstein, Jr. - Producer, David Baksht - Sound/Sound Designer, Naguib Mahfouz - Book Author

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Wikipedia: El callejón de los milagros
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El Callejón de los Milagros

El Callejón de los Milagros theatrical poster
Directed by Jorge Fons
Produced by Gerardo Barrera
Alfredo Ripstein hijo
Written by Vicente Leñero(screenplay) - Naguib Mahfouz (novel)
Starring Ernesto Gómez Cruz
Salma Hayek
Bruno Bichir
Delia Casanova
Margarita Sanz
Claudio Obregón
Music by Lucía Álvarez
Cinematography Carlos Marcovich
Editing by Carlos Savage hijo
Distributed by VIDEOVISA (Mexico) (Spain)
IFC Films(USA) (Australia)
Release date(s) May 5, 1995 (Mexico)
November 17, 1995 (Spain)
October 26, 1995 (Netherlands)
March 6, 1998 (USA)
Running time 140 min.
Country Mexico
Language Spanish

El callejón de los milagros (English: The Alley of Miracles) is an award-winning 1994 Mexican film adapted from the novel by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, written by Vicente Leñero and directed by Jorge Fons. The film deals with complex issues such as gay and lesbian related topics, the lower-middle class of Mexico City, and the lives of many people.

The story is told from three perspectives: Don Ru (Ernesto Gómez Cruz), the owner of a cantina where most of the men in the story gather to drink and play dominoes, Alma (Salma Hayek), the beautiful girl of the neighborhood who dreams of passion, and Susanita (Margarita Sanz who won an Ariel Award for this role), the owner of the apartment complex where Alma and many of the other characters live.

The film was critically acclaimed by international critics. It earned 11 Ariel Awards, including Best Picture and more than 49 international awards and nominations. Pan's Labyrinth and El Callejón de los Milagros were named as the best Mexican films by IMDB.com and Entertainment Weekly.

Contents

Plot

The lives of the inhabitants of El Callejón de los Milagros, in downtown Mexico City, are closely knitted as the threads of a rug. Fifty-something Don Ru owns a small "cantina" where all the men spend afternoons playing domino. He's tired of his longtime marriage with Eusebia and has recently discovered new feelings inside his heart. It doesn't matter if these feelings are not aimed to a young lady but to a young clerk after all, as one of the characters says, "it's platonic love". Don Ru's son Chava doesn't like what he sees and almost kills his father's lover. Running away from Don Ru's anger, Chava escapes to the USA with his friend Abel who's deeply in love with beautiful Alma, the daughter of Dona Cata, a tarot reader with bad luck in love. Susanita, the ugly landlady looking for love; Guicho, Don Ru's cynical employee, Maru, Don Fidel, Dona Flor, Zacarias and mean Jose Luis complete the cast of characters of this complex portrait of lives.

Cast

  • Ernesto Gómez Cruz as Rutilio (Don Ru)
  • María Rojo as Doña Cata
  • Salma Hayek as Alma
  • Bruno Bichir as Abel
  • Delia Casanova as Eusebia
  • Margarita Sanz as Susanita
  • Claudio Obregón as Don Fidel
  • Juan Manuel Bernal as Chava
  • Abel Woolrich as Zacarías
  • Luis Felipe Tovar as Güicho
  • Daniel Giménez Cacho as José Luis
  • Gina Morett as Doña Flor
  • Óscar Yoldi as Ubaldo El Poeta ("The poet")
  • Esteban Soberanes as Jimy
  • Eugenia Leñero as Tina
  • Tiaré Scanda as Maru

Awards and nominations

Ariel Awards

Wins:

  • Best Film
  • Best Direction' for Jorge Fons
  • Best Actress for Margarita Sanz
  • Best Supporting Actor for Luis Felipe Tovar
  • Best Costume Design' for Jaime Ortiz
  • Best Editing' for Carlos Savage hijo
  • Best Make-Up for Elvia Romero
  • Best Original Music Theme or Song for Lucía Álvarez
  • Best Original Score for Lucía Álvarez
  • Best Production Design for Carlos Gutiérrez
  • Best Screenplay for Vicente Leñero

Nominations:

  • Best Actor for Ernesto Gómez Cruz
  • Best Actor in a Minor Role' for Óscar Yoldi
  • Best Actress for Salma Hayek
  • Best Actress in a Minor Role for Delia Casanova
  • Best Actress in a Minor Role' for María Rojo
  • Best Cinematography ' for Carlos Marcovich
  • Best Set Design for Carlos Gutiérrez
  • Best Sound for David Baksht
  • Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Giménez Cacho
  • Best Supporting Actor for Esteban Soberanes
  • Best Supporting Actress for Tiaré Scanda

Berlin International Film Festival

Wins:

  • Special Mention for the exceptional narrative quality

'Nominations:

  • Golden Berlin Bear for Jorge Fons

Chicago International Film Festival

Wins:

  • Audience Choice Award"

Goya Award

Wins:

  • Best Spanish Language Foreign Film

Gramado Film Festival

Wins:

  • Best Director for Jorge Fons
  • Best Supporting Actress for Margarita Sanz

Nominations:

  • Best Latin Film

Guadalajara Film Festival

Wins:

  • Audience Award

Havana Film Festival

Wins:

Mexican Cinema Journalists

Wins:

  • Best Film

Paraguay Film Festival

Wins:

Toulouse Latin America Film Festival

Wins:

  • Special Mention for the distribution of the film

Valladolid International Film Festival

Wins:

Nominations:

External links


This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

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