Screened as part of NZIFF 2007

Drama/Mex 2006

Directed by Gerardo Naranjo

Set over one hot night in the once-glamorous tourist resort of Acapulco, this sensitive, authentic Mexican drama weaves together three stories of love, despair and unexpected compassion.

Mexico In Spanish with English subtitles
104 minutes CinemaScope

Director, Screenplay

Photography

Tobias Datum

Editor

Yibran Asuad

Music

Lynn Fainchtein

With

Fernando Becerril
,
Juan Pablo Castañeda
,
Diana García
,
Martha Claudia Moreno
,
Emilio Valdés

Festivals

Cannes (Critics' week), Toronto, London 2006; Rotterdam 2007

Executive-produced by Gael García Bernal and Diego Luna (Y tu mamá también) and with a nod to Amores perros, Drama/Mex is structured as three separate stories that weave in and out of each other with skilful ease. Set over one hot night in the once-glamorous tourist resort of Acapulco, the film opens with young Chano trying to win back the affections of his ex-girlfriend, Fernanda. Even though she knows he’s trouble, there’s still an attraction she can’t deny, and Latin passions escalate as Chano competes with her new beau Gonzalo for her attentions. Meanwhile, back on the beach, predatory girl gang member Tigrillo has her eye on Jaime, a middle-aged businessman who has stolen money from his company and come to Acapulco to end it all. Gerardo Naranjo manages to coax wonderfully authentic performances from a mostly inexperienced bunch of actors while demonstrating a sensitive eye for composition. He is clearly a director to follow.

“Naranjo [has crafted] a deceptively complex tripartite character study of love, despair and unexpected compassion.” — Jay Weissberg, Variety