"All I wanted was to be a mariachi, like my ancestors. But the city I thought would bring me luck brought only a curse."
El Mariachi:
STARRING
Carlos Gallardo
Consuelo Gómez
Reinol Martinez
Peter Marquardt
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, rated R
Robert Rodriguez wasn’t always a Hollywood big shot. Before the Spy Kids movies, before Sin City, before its bigger-budget sequels, he produced a small, low-budget film for $7,000. Its name: El Mariachi. His goal: gain experience, and have it distributed by the Spanish straight-to-video market in order to make enough profit to direct more movies.
What he ended up doing was revolutionizing how movies were made.
In 1992, El Mariachi ended up going on to be distributed by Miramax into theaters, and winning the Audience Award at Sundance. Rodriguez went from being a young, Mexican filmmaker without much professional experience to being thrust into the glamour and money-making machine that is Hollywood.
What’s so significant about El Mariachi? It showed that good, high-quality movies could be made on a low budget. It became a frontrunner in the independent film revolution that has continued to grow, and changed how movies today are made.
It’s hard to review a movie that so greatly contributed to the evolution of cinema. On the one hand, it’s a strong example of how money isn’t necessary to make movies. On the other hand…it doesn’t seem as “professional” today as it did more than ten years ago.
The plot of El Mariachi is fairly simple: a young mariachi comes into a small Mexican town looking for work. Meanwhile, a local drug lord named Moco tries unsuccessfully to kill a guy named Azul who wants the money he’s owed from a previous deal. Azul is out for revenge, and Moco’s still trying too get rid of him. The problem: Azul dresses in black and carries a guitar case full of weapons. The next thing you know, our mariachi is mistaken for Azul, and forced to fend for his life against Moco’s thugs.
It’s a simple story about a case mistaken identity. Nothing new. The movie’s main strength lies in the directing. Not only did Rodriguez manage to direct an action movie for only a few thousand dollars, but it looks good. Even here we can see the beginnings of Rodriguez’s focus on intriguing visuals. The shots are well thought-out, the color palette works well, and the simple lighting (which consisted entirely of two cheap lights you can get at any hardware store) gets the job done. Simple techniques such as speeding up or slowing down the action are pulled off to maximum effect, whether it be to increase the tension or as a form of comic relief.
Unfortunately, the movie does have some significant flaws. However, that’s to be expected with a budget of $7,000. The acting is one element that suffers as a result of low financing – none of the actors had any professional experience. Keeping this in mind, Carlos Gallardo does an excellent job in the titular role; the audience gets a clear sense of his longing to be a good musician, and his confusion at suddenly being shot at for no good reason. Unfortunately, the other actors don’t hold up quite as well. Consuelo Gómez gives a merely tolerable performance as El Mariachi’s love interest. Reinol Martinez is probably the weakest of the main actors – his handling of Azul’s dialogue hardly makes him seem like a threatening character. He’s even worse than Peter Marquardt, whose broken Spanish hardly inspires a sense of fear from the audience – for the main villain, he doesn’t seem very imposing or dangerous.
Rodriguez’s shooting style was extremely fast and efficient; most of the time, only a single take was done of each shot in order to save film. As Rodriguez explains it, this forced him to work creatively around problems that would ordinarily just be solved by throwing money at them. He edited the movie in his head as he went along – he would shoot each actor saying their lines once, zooming in and out between sentences, so he could then simply cut between characters and make it look like more than one camera was used. That’s fine if you need to save money, but it makes for some very hectic editing at times. There are moments in the movie where the camera cuts back and forth so fast you hardly have time to absorb each shot. If you take into account that it’s a low-budget movie, that’s fine, but as a movie in general that makes for a very disjointed atmosphere. Luckily, the editing is fine most of the time – this problem only arises in certain scenes.
El Mariachi is an action movie. Unfortunately, by today’s standards, the action isn’t great. The action that is present is done well enough; unfortunately, there’s not enough of it. As a result, the pacing suffers from being too slow at times. We’re presented with some well-shot and creative shootouts, but they’re over far too quickly. It’s rated R for violence, but parents shouldn’t worry too much; it’s pretty tame by today’s standards, despite the fact that it can be pretty bloody at times.
Overall, El Mariachi is a pretty good movie. It’s a simple story with a lot of heart, and a prime example of what one can accomplish with little or no budget. It ends on a cliffhanger that isn’t abrupt or startling, but presented in such a way that you want to see what happens to El Mariachi. Good thing there are sequels. This first installment of what Rodriguez calls the “Mariachi Trilogy” isn’t a masterpiece when compared to movies in general, but it’s a landmark of independent film and worth renting. Yes, there are flaws, but for a director could do a lot worse for a debut film, let alone one made for only $7,000. I give it a 6.5/10.
The Bottom Line: A stunning achievement when you take its budget into account. A fair movie even when you don’t.
Should I see it? It’s a must-see for anyone interested in low-budget filmmaking. And even if you’re not, it’s worth seeing just to have a bit of background for the sequels, which I consider to be superior installments.
STARRING
Antonio Banderas
Salma Hayek
Steve Buscemi
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, rated R
Robert Rodriguez has got to be the luckiest filmmaker in Hollywood. He made his first feature film for $7000, intending it to be released straight to the Spanish video market. Somehow, he managed to get noticed by Miramax and it was distributed into theaters. Next thing you know, he’s got studios looking to hire him and all of the benefits that entails.
And so, now he’s back, with the sequel to his breakout hit, El Mariachi. Everything about this movie is bigger than its predecessor. The budget: it went from $7,000 to $7,000,000. The actors: the unknown friends of the director were replaced by Hollywood stars Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek. The action: it went from small and bloody to bigger and bloodier.
Desperado is a much darker tale than the first movie. The protagonist is no longer an innocent mariachi, killing only out of self-defense. Now he is spoken of only in whispers. Legend has it he’s a huge, dark Mexican who walks in shadow and carries a guitar case full of guns, killing whoever stands in his way.
That’s only somewhat true. While he does carry a guitar case full of guns, he’s hardly a big, savage killing machine. Rather, he’s a tormented soul. After the events that transpired in the first film, he now lives only for revenge against everyone connected to Moco’s drug cartel. Rodriguez puts his new leading man to good use. Banderas gives his character depth and his eyes show more than words ever could. He lives in agony over the loss of the woman he loved and the hand he had hoped to make a living with. Vengeance is all he has to live for. We don’t approve of his actions, yet we feel sympathy for him nonetheless.
The script this time around is stronger than the original. In terms of plot, there’s not much difference – there’s our main character, his love interest, and an evil drug lord who must be dealt with. What’s different this time around is the character development. El Mariachi is now a much more three-dimensional character, and we never question the motives behind his actions. Carolina, the girl he inevitably falls for, has her own style and way of doing things that also makes for some interesting situations. Not to mention the fact that that there’s a plot twist at the end that adds un unexpected layer to a villain who otherwise would be your typical cardboard-cutout bad guy.
The actors play their parts nearly perfectly. Banderas does a great job of portraying the inner conflict of his character. Salma Hayek brings a great amount of chemistry to their relationship, not to mention the fact that she’s drop-dead gorgeous. Even Steve Buscemi, who plays a minor role as comic relief, pulls his lines off with the exact amount of flair needed to bring out their full potential. Not to mention the fact that Rodriguez’s director buddy, Quentin Tarantino, makes a cameo in what is one of the film’s funniest scenes. If there’s one thing that can be said about having a bigger budget, it’s that it can buy you better talent.
Rodriguez doesn’t waste a penny. Once again, he manages to make a movie that looks like it cost much more than it actually did. The action scenes in this film are arguably the best in the entire trilogy. From the opening shootout to the final confrontation, this movie is all about fun. Bodies soar through the air, hundreds of bullets are fired, and the blood flows freely. None of it is realistic – it’s not supposed to be. This is just your good, old-fashioned action flick where the main character can take on dozens of opponents without getting a scratch. Rodriguez has crafted some of the most entertaining action scenes I’ve ever seen. The lighting and colors are all like something out of a cheesy comic book, but it works, and it works well. This movie also happens to contain two of the most creative weapons ever, but I won’t spoil the surprise. Suffice to say that the original Mariachi, Carlos Gallardo, makes a memorable cameo in what is perhaps the film’s most action-packed scene.
Rodriguez’s visual style has matured since the first movie. The impressive visuals are still here, they just look even better. The lighting and shot choices capture the perfect mood, rather it be one of dark sorrow or light fun. As a result, the movie feels more natural than the other two installments, sliding effortlessly between tones and moods.
Overall, this movie is just fun. The action is exaggerated, there’s a completely gratuitous (and quite graphic) sex scene, and plot twists that feel like they were taken directly from a soap opera. This movie isn’t trying to win any awards, and it knows it. This pure escapist entertainment at its best. The result is a darker, yet more entertaining movie than its predecessor which is arguably the best of the entire trilogy, and deserving of an 8/10.
The Bottom Line: Guns, drugs and Salma Hayek. ‘Nuff said.
Should I see it? If you’re just looking for a good time, then yes. In terms of pure entertainment, it’s hard to beat.
STARRING
Antonio Banderas
Johnny Depp
Willem Dafoe
Eva Mendes
Directed by Robert Rodriguez, rated R
El Mariachi is back. And this time, it’s not just about the drug dealers.
For the final installment in the El Mariachi Trilogy, Robert Rodriguez has crafted the most intriguing and complex storyline of the series. Whereas the first two movies revolved mainly around El Mariachi and his conflict with a single drug lord, this one has more characters than you can count on two hands. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing.
As with Despserado, revenge plays a major part in the storyline. El Mariachi is still out for vengeance. He still struggles with an inner conflict (though not quite as much as the previous film). There’s still a drug lord. But those are only pieces of a larger plotline that contains, among other things: a stone cold CIA agent, a retired FBI agent, a military coup, a power-hungry general, and a nice warm plate of “puerco pibil.”
Antonio Banderas once again is great as the main character. However, this time El Mariachi is forced to share screen time with Agent Sands of the CIA, played to perfection by Johnny Depp. Sands ends up in many ways being a more intriguing character than El Mariachi (who we’ve all seen before), but this is good. Without his character, the story might settle down into all-too-familiar-territory. As it is, the script is much more epic than the previous two movies, and Agent Sands is one of the most fascinating characters of the entire trilogy. He’ll protect little children from danger, but he has no problem killing a chef just because his food is a little too tasty. Depp is extremely comfortable in the role, and by the end of the movie I was convinced Agent Sands deserves his own spin-off.
The directing is the best it’s ever been – Rodriguez has come a long way since El Mariachi. This film is saturated with colors and has a visual flair straight out of a comic-book or Sergei Leone’s classic spaghetti westerns, which obviously inspired it. Everything about this movie screams “Mexico” and “cool,” whether it be the lighting, sound or characters.
Unfortunately, the movie does have a few flaws. The pacing isn’t perfect – at times the movie drags on a little too slowly. That’s not good, considering Rodriguez has more characters than he knows what to do with. Some characters are developed to their full potential, but others seem like they’re just left out to dry – they don’t really serve a purpose except to look cool. The editing style is a bit too fast for my tastes, and as a result many of the action scenes lack a solid visual foundation. It’s almost as if Rodriguez wanted to make such scenes too fast-paced and kinetic. The camera cuts faster than you can develop the shot you just saw, which gives at least a few of the action scenes a rough and disjointed film.
Speaking of action scenes, except for the ones mentioned above, the action in this film is excellent. It’s not quite as exaggerated and fun as Desperado, but it’s still a great ride. From rappelling down an apartment complex, to a shootout in a cathedral, to a revolution in the streets, this movie has plenty to make action fans happy. Plus, we’re once again treated to two of El Mariachi’s buddies, and you know what that means: cool weapons!
Overall, the movie suffers from trying to accomplish too much. There are too many characters to keep track of, and at times the plot can be a bit confusing. The action is good, but at times feels like that was a monkey in the editing room. It’s really good, but not excellent, and deserving of an 8/10.
The Bottom Line: Not quite as fun as Desperado, but still a satisfying conclusion to a great, action-packed trilogy.
Should I see it? If you’re a fan of action and the previous two movies, then yes. Absolutely.