# Callejón de los milagros, El (1995)

### reviewed by
R.L. Strong

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DAVID MAZOR & JOHN LAWRENCE RÉ PRESENT AN ALFREDO RIPSTEIN PRODUCTION IN ASSOCIATION WITH ALAMEDA FILMS, IMCINE FONDO DE FOMENTO A LA CALIDAD CINEMATOGRAFICA, UNIVERSIDAD DE GUADALAJARA PRESENTS "MIDAQ ALLEY" (El Callejón De Los Milagros) staring ERNESTO GOMEZ CRUZ SELMA HAYEK MARIA ROJO BRUNO BICHIR DELIA CASANOVA LUIS FELIPE TOVAR MUSIC BY LUCIA ALVAREZ CINEMATOGRAPHY BY CARLOS MARCOVICH SOUND BY DAVID BAKSHT EDITIED BY CARLOS SAVAGE PRODUCTION COORDINATOR: DANIEL BERMAN RIPSTEIN BASED ON THE NOVEL BY NAGUIB MAHFOUZ SCREENPLAY BY VICENTE LENERO PRODUCED BY ALFREDO RIPSTEIN, JR. & GERARDO BARRERA DIRECTED BY JORGE FONS In Spanish with English Subtitles approx. 140 minutes

Since the debut of W. Somerset Maugham's "Quartet", filmmakers have often used the omnibus format of several tales to imbue a single idea or thought. Such diverse films as the above mentioned title through Vincente Minnelli's 'Story of Three Loves' onto Quenten Tarentino's 'Pulp Fiction' have used the multi-story approach to enhance their film. Jorge Fons' film adaptation of Naguib Mahfouz's novel of a small poor neighborhood in Mexico is the latest film to utilize the technique. And the end results are remarkably satisfying. "Midaq Alley" uses the multiple story frameworks in a way to tell the complex stories of several characters. The script by Vicente Lenero, expertly takes these individual stories, and combines them; creating a marvelous whole, wherein any event from any of the three tales could impact on the forth. The film is actually broken up into four distinct tales, three of which are introduced with the same game of dominoes at a local tavern.

The first tale is entitled 'Rutilio', wherein we are introduced to a middle aged man, Rutilio (Ernesto Gomez Cruz); owner of a small bar in the town. He is a pitifully shallow man, oblivious to the thievery by his employees, estranged by his wife and family and succumbing to his own latent homosexuality. Rutilio's son, Chava dreams of running to America to make his fortune. Relations become violently strained when Chava discovers his Father having an affair with a younger man (Esteban Soberanes). Attacking the young man and almost killing him, Chavo is forced to leave Mexico, fearful of his Father's vengeance.

The second tale, 'Alma' gives us the story of Alma (Selma Hayek), a young innocent girl in her mid twenties. She is the object of affection of Abel, a young man who works as a barber in the town. As Alma and Abel date, Alma is approached by Don Fidel (Claudio Obregón), an elderly businessman in town; with a proposal of marriage. When Abel joins his friend, Chava (from the previous tale) on his flight to the U.S., Alma agrees to the marriage arrangement. But, Don Fidel passes away of a heart attack before the wedding, leaving Alma ripe for the suave attentions of Jose Luis (Daniel Giménez Cacho).

The third story, 'Susanita'; introduces us to the matronly landlord of a small apartment in the neighborhood. Her sad tale of loneliness and despair is possibly the most riveting and heartfelt. Margarita Sanz plays Susanita as a spinster longing for romance, longing for at the very least.. heartbreak. When she accidentally injures Güicho (Luis Felipe Tovar), she immediately falls in love with the younger man. They marry, but the marriage is a sham from the beginning as Güicho is only interested in Susanita's money. The final tale, 'El Regreso' (The Return) ties up all of the plot threads in a sad and effecting final act.

The film is nicely presented, without any flashy moves or tricks. The camera work is modest but extremely effective, giving the film a glossy look that belies its limited resources. The direction by Jorge Fons concentrates on the performances, and there is not a false note among the fine group. The standout performance is by Bruno Bichir as the lovelorn Abel, who deftly shows both the heights of love and the depths of despair. This is an actor to watch. Selma Hayek is wonderfully innocent as Alma. Her child-like and playfully naive questioning of sex, to her final transformation to a spiritually bankrupt call girl is quite possibly the best performance of her career to date.

The most remarkable aspect of 'Midaq Alley' is that the film makes you love and care for these diverse and desperate people. All of the inhabitants of the neighborhood dream grand dreams, but all of them soon realize that the dreams are well beyond their reach. Forgiveness is something that only God can aspire to. It is only at the denouement, where Alma tries to save Abel from himself that true forgiveness is granted. But to what end, the filmmakers will not tell us. It is a wonderful morality tale of how life circles and recreates itself.

"MIDAQ ALLEY" is a fine film, told from a point of view that neither vindicates nor abdicates it's character's actions. These are people we have all known, people we have all loved, people we have all hated. In other words.. they are us.

                                                  Copyright © 1999 R. L. Strong
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