:
Alberto Vazquez,
Amparo Rivelles,
Alicia Bonet,
more...
:
Julian Soler
see all cast/crew...
: Vanguard Cinema
: Drama, Foreign, Latin America, Mexico
: 90 min.
: Spanish
: English
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An average working-class family contends with the perils of everyday life in this classic melodrama from Mexico starring Sara Garcia and Joaquin Pardave. Youngest son Raymondo has been accused of purse-snatching, and his father is convinced that swift punishment is the only way of keeping the boy in the straight and narrow. Later, after the rest of the children have fled the nest to find their own way in the world, Jose is hired at the local bank. Being around so much money isn't easy for a boy who has had to struggle his whole life just to get by, and after eventually succumbing to his greed Jose begs his mother to help him out of his pressing dilemma. When the house is mortgaged, the family is forced to accept the very real possibility that they will lose their home. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
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| Kids Leaving Home, Mexican-style, in the 60s
by talltale
December 15, 2005 - 5:24 PM PST
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1 out of 1 members found this review helpful
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For movie-lovers who enjoy experiencing something different--if old--CUANDO LOS HIJOS SE VAN may provide just the thing: a Mexican film from 1969 that combines social tract and soap opera in a manner than works surprisingly well. You'll need to get past the grainy and really quite terrible print, and the subtitles that are usually there but sometimes not (and not always grammatically correct).
The movie tracks the rocky transition into modern times of a highly traditional upper-class Mexican family: dad, mom, two sons and two daughters and the very smart and helpful family friend. It's all quite quaint, yet the story and characters do pull you in, and along the way there are number of surprisingly powerful scenes. My favorite takes place on a television set that could pass for an "American Idol" of 40 years ago, where the contestant must not only sing but be mortified simultaneously (on "Idol," they at least wait till you're finished). This scene manages to be funny, nasty, moving and strange. Other scenes, however--particularly as the finale nears--are often compressed so tightly that they seem rushed.
Part of the film's unique charm comes from its old-fashioned feel. Though it's a soap-opera, it is not concocted in the over-the-top manner of a Ross Hunter-produced, Douglas Sirk-directed family epic. By the end you may be more involved and moved than you'd imagine, and this is due, I think, to the enormous respect for both subject and characters that the moviemakers bring to the project. Respect is a commodity that grows increasingly rare in films. Here's a chance to discover what it looked like, in Mexico, nearly four decades ago. |
| so deeply moving
by WDiComo
April 2, 2005 - 7:06 AM PST
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1 out of 2 members found this review helpful
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It is, of course, the drawback of film-making that it has an hour and a half to tell an often long story, so the viewer may sense a compactness, a conspicuous series of only pregnant moments, a rapid manipulation of emotions that amounts to an artificiality.
So be it, but with that said, this movie is one remarkable endeavor.
Now, when I first heard of it, I thought this '60's tale would be focusing on the days of student revolution, but actually the struggles of young and old, while connected in spirit to those rebellions, are played out in personal, not group, terms. The issues are the fundamentals--studying, careers, and marriage as played out in a well-to-do Mexican family.
A traditional father estranges three out of four of his children as the youngsters newly embrace their right to pursue happiness. Mama's heart is with the children, but knows only the time-honored role of repression. A wise godfather's pleas fall on deaf ears. Ultimately an irreversible tragedy will impact and be the catalyst for redemption.
By the time the film end, I was in tears.
I'd say the filmakers posessed an acute sensibility to the time-period and where it was taking us.
If you appreciate a human story, depictions of social class, culture and the dynamics of change as they play out in family life, SCAP THIS ONE UP. |
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GreenCine Member Rating
(Average 6.00)
4 Votes
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