Midaq Alley (film)
7.8 /10 1 Votes7.8
Initial DVD release December 21, 2004 Duration Country Mexico | 7.6/10 IMDb Genre Drama Music director Lucia Alvarez | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Release date 5 May 1995 (1995-05-05) Cast (Don Ru), María Rojo (Doña Cata), (Alma), (Eusebia), Margarita Sanz (Susanita), (Don Fidel)Similar movies Jamon Jamon , Zandalee , The Voyeur , The Postman Always Rings Twice , The Hunger Games: Catching Fire , Last Exit to Brooklyn Tagline The most awarded film in Mexican history. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Midaq Alley (Spanish: ''El callejón de los milagros'', also released as The Alley of Miracles) is a 1995 Mexican film adapted from the novel by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, written by Vicente Leñero and directed by Jorge Fons. The film deals with complex issues such as gay and lesbian related topics, the lower-middle class of Mexico City, and the lives of many people.
Contents
- Midaq alley trailer
- Plot
- Structure
- Cast
- Ariel Awards
- Berlin International Film Festival
- Chicago International Film Festival
- Goya Award
- Gramado Film Festival
- Guadalajara Film Festival
- Havana Film Festival
- Mexican Cinema Journalists
- Paraguay Film Festival
- Toulouse Latin America Film Festival
- Valladolid International Film Festival
- References
The story is told from three perspectives: Don Ru (Ernesto Gómez Cruz), the owner of a cantina where most of the men in the story gather to drink and play dominoes, Alma (Salma Hayek), the beautiful girl of the neighborhood who dreams of passion, and Susanita (Margarita Sanz who won an Ariel Award for this role), the owner of the apartment complex where Alma and many of the other characters live.
The film was critically acclaimed by international critics. It earned 11 Ariel Awards, including Best Picture at the 37th Ariel Awards and more than 49 international awards and nominations. Pan's Labyrinth and El Callejón de los Milagros were named as the best Mexican films by IMDB.com and Entertainment Weekly. The film was selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 68th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Midaq alley trailer
Plot
The lives of the inhabitants of El Callejón de los Milagros, in downtown Mexico City, are as closely knitted as the threads of a rug. Fifty-something Don Ru owns a small "cantina" where all the men spend afternoons playing domino. He's tired of his longtime marriage with Eusebia and has recently discovered new feelings inside his heart. It does not matter if these feelings are not aimed to a young lady but to a young clerk after all, as one of the characters says, "it's platonic love". Don Ru's son Chava does not like what he sees and almost kills his father's lover. Running away from Don Ru's anger, Chava escapes to the USA with his friend Abel who is deeply in love with beautiful Alma, the daughter of Doña Cata, a tarot reader with bad luck in love. Susanita, the ugly landlady looking for love; Guicho, Don Ru's cynical employee, Maru, Don Fidel, Doña Flor, Zacarias and mean Jose Luis complete the cast of characters of this complex portrait of lives.
Structure
The film is divided into four successive and clearly labeled chapters. The first three are named after key individuals, and the fourth wraps up the story. Each chapter starts at the same time, with the same game of dominoes, and describes the same time period, but from the viewpoints of the named people; the chapters tell each person's story. Each chapter thus provides the viewer with details which help to explain things which happened in the other chapters.
- Rutilio deals with Don Ru's dissatisfaction with his marriage and his poorly hidden homosexual love affair with a young man.
- Alma deals with Alma's life and her falling in love with Abel. He leaves with Chava for America and Alma "disappears". She has been seduced and ends up in a whorehouse.
- Susanita is the landlady with horrible teeth whose feelings and romantic hopes are awakened. She marries Guicho.
- The Return describes the return of Abel and Chava, and Abel's search for Alma. Chava is married and has his wife and baby boy with him. Abel finds Alma in the whorehouse and is heartbroken. He tries to attack her pimp and is stabbed several times. He dies in her arms.
Cast
Ariel Awards
Won:
Nominations:
Berlin International Film Festival
Wins:
Nominations:
Chicago International Film Festival
Wins:
Goya Award
Wins:
Gramado Film Festival
Wins:
Nominations:
Guadalajara Film Festival
Wins:
Havana Film Festival
Wins:
Mexican Cinema Journalists
Wins:
Paraguay Film Festival
Wins:
Toulouse Latin America Film Festival
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Valladolid International Film Festival
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Nominations:
References
Midaq Alley (film) WikipediaMidaq Alley (film) IMDb Midaq Alley (film) themoviedb.org