Mexican kids - Temporada de patos

I think this movie is exceptionally great. I goes to show that a good film does not need of an elaborate scenery or a super script to be good or funny. The photography by Alexis Zabe was amazing; Situated in Tlatelolco, a place where many remember the killing of 68(read your history people)It shows a side of Mexico city that many people don't know. Since its stereotyped as the city with the highest crime rates in Latin America, in a way we are invited to a small fraction of the lives of 4 people. That is what I liked the most about the film, its mainly centered on day to day problems.

If you are not a native speaker, many of the jokes can be lost. other than that I recommend it fully.

best quote:

"vayase a la mierda, corrame. me vale pito"

If you want to have a good time, go to this movie. Notice I didn't feel impelled to be pretentious and say film. This black and white movie is like a Woody Allen film but with at least two of the characterizations more three-dimensional. I won't ever forget the excitement of sitting in the front row of a 1200 person theater and hearing everyone laugh at once. And the excitement or of seeing video games widescreen just a few feet away--I was on the edge of my seat. Another great scene: watching whether the pizza deliveryman would beat the clock as he raced to the top floor of the apartment building. And then there was the visiting neighbor girl who could give Diane Keaton a run for the money. The key to this wonderful comedy in its perfect timing. After the movie which I saw at the Festival of Cortometraje in Guanajuato, Mexico, I met Paula Markevich, who polished the script. She told me she kept changing lines while she watched the boys rehearse. A film made with tenderness, humor and care. Enjoy, enjoy!

Not only Fernando Eimbcke challenged himself to shoot a movie inside of an apartment but he casted three kids without any experience in acting. The result is an original realistic movie with truly funny young characters. And yes: there are guns, drugs, flirting and bare buttocks but in a unworried way -enough to be fun and not scary. It is Eimbcke's opera prima for a long movie and he proved that his experience directing music videoclips and comedic short movies is a good foundation for this movie. He already got seven "mayahueles" at the Guadalajara Film Festival, a MTV Movie Award and he got his chance of showing Duck Season at the International Critics Week in Cannes 2004.

As usual, IMDb voters are VERY easily entertained. "Duck Season" was a big disappointment to me. It is played more for laughs although there were some poignant moments, too. Unfortunately, I was starting to feel as bored as some of the characters. Could have done without the "dead animals" scene, it really wasn't necessary. The film was also shot in B&W which surprised me but seemed appropriate. There isn't a lot of meat here, but if you like character studies, it isn't bad. Enrique Arreola as the pizza guy gives a very good performance. The younger actors weren't that convincing.

5/10

This is a wonderful example of the freshness in contemporary Mexican cinema. It's the story of two fourteen-year-old boys, who've been best friends for a long time. They get the chance to spend a whole day all by themselves at home playing video game and eating junk food. What they expected to be a quiet and pleasant day ends up being a total mess after the arrival of a teenage girl neighbor and a pizza delivery guy. Most of the film is a comedy which made everybody in the cinema laugh out loud. But the character building is so wonderfully done, that one gets very interested. In the beginning, the director made 2 or 3 minutes entirely of shots of the neighborhood in which the boys live. He makes us feel exactly how it is to live there. Also there's a slight theme of homosexuality (one boy realizes that he may be falling in love with the other one) that is very well developed.

It's basically a bittersweet story with really funny moments and outstanding actors performances, direction, screenplay and cinematography (the film was shot in black and white). It won 7 prizes, including best film, best director and best actress in the last Guadalajara Film Festival. A must-see!