Movie Details
| Title: | El Infierno | |
| Director: | Luis Estrada | |
| Year: | 2010 | |
| Genre: | Gangster | |
| Times Seen: | 1 | |
| Last Seen: | 09.24.11 |
Other Movies Seen By This Director (0)
| Date Viewed | Venue | Note |
| 09.24.11 | Alamo South Lamar | This Screening is part of event: FantasticFest 2011 Saturday morning! Time for a ten dollar Breakfast Club and a two and a half hour mexican drug epic! Actually, this was one of my most highly-anticipated screenings because I've been wanting a movie about the current Mexican drug war for a year or two now. Some of the shit that's happening on the border and in the cities down there is batshit insane and can be seen in headlines today, not buried in history. Hopefully we'll get some great docs or something once the war ends and the smoke clears (something akin to Cocaine Cowboys or Excellent Cadavers), but until then, this Goodfellas-mold of a brother returning to his hometown after 20 years of trying to get rich in America will definitely do. Although I believe this is a fictional story, the setting feels absolutely authentic. From the gaudy outfits to the solid gold pistols, this is what I'm seeing when they raid the cartel hide-outs and everything. It comes off as very funny on-screen but must be terrifying to actually live. The movie is actually really great at that: flip-flopping between humor and violence and the two never really get muddled.Just like Goodfellas, there's a fun energetic "good times" half and a pretty disastrous "bad times" downfall. The ending is also very good, delivering a message that feels 100% true without seeming forced or heavy-handed. It still comes from the story. The director said the movie sprang from the last shot of the film so it was never a question whether it would be in or out. A really great film. It might turn out to be one of my favorites of the festival, although everyone's been so quick to say that and, to be honest, I've really only seen a couple films so far that I haven't liked. Let's hope the rest of the fest goes this well. |
