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Naguib Mahfouz, the Egyptian novelist, whose "Midaq Alley" serves as the basis of this film, wrote about the characters that populate that narrow strip of an Egyptian city, and how in some ways, all of their lives are so inter-connected to one another.

Director Jorge Fons and the adapter, Vicente Lenero, transferred the action to Mexico City. They used the same format that Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu later used for his successful "Amores Perros" in 2000. It would be unfair to compare both films, yet, one can see certain parallels in the way the films unfold. Each narrative shows exact moments in which the lives of the people that part of town prove pivotal for the stories presented in the film.

There are four stories in the film. Each deals with what happened to that particular character while all have points in which they connect with the others. The film shows that when Mexican filmmakers want to tell interesting human stories, such as the ones depicted in the film, they don't have a thing to envy to the best types of cinema of the world. This is clearly a movie that will survive because of its universal themes.

Salma Hayek was making her second appearance in front of the cameras. She proved why she was an actress to be reckoned with. Her Alma shows a vulnerability, and freshness as she approaches the character. Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Maria Rojo, Bruno Bichir, Daniel Gimenez Cacho, Luis Felipe Tovar and the rest of the cast do excellent ensemble work under Mr. Fons direction.

The film will not disappoint the viewer.

This movie is an impressive and exciting story about the people,their feelings,love,desperation,anger and hope.Although the scenario is a little bit melodramatic , the film is a must indeed.It is quite different from the blockbusters with happy ends because it is real and outstanding.Several lives and fates are mixed in it.Every character has their own unique personality.They all have to take decisions for their lives and have to fight for happiness.The actors are very nice.The stunning Hayek makes a good performance .Gomes Krus is also convincing as a man who becomes gay after 30 years marriage.The supporting roles are also well-played.Don't think that this is some kind of soap opera- it is something deeper...

She quickly went on to fame in Desperado and From Dusk Til Dawn, but this, Salma Hayek's second film role, shows her acting talent.

In the first of four tales, she is just window dressing. An object of desire for a young boy (Bruno Bichir). While she is sitting, Don Ru (Ernesto Gómez Cruz) is yelling at his son (Juan Manuel Bernal) for acting like "a queer" while he himself pursues Jimmy (Esteban Soberanes); and Susanita (Margarita Sanz) is getting her fortune told by Almita's (Hayek) mother, Catalina (María Rojo).

After Don Ru's son runs away thinking he has done something awful, and he buries his head in his wife's lap moaning. the story starts all over with an emphasis on Almita. She, tragically, ends up with Jose Luis (Daniel Giménez Cacho) and disappears.

Susanita is growing older and desperate to find a man. She fancies Don Ru's son, but ends up with Guicho (Luis Felipe Tovar).

So, does the prodigal son return? Does Almicita come home? How are things to end? The story is first rate and it has you on the edge of you seat wondering how it all ties together.

My Cable company just recently added the new Spanish HBO to my system. And I just so happen to be flipping through these channels looking for something to watch (you know, it's really late and there is nothing else on), well I came to the Spanish HBO and a movie was just starting with sub-titles. I thought, hey why not. This movie "Midaq Alley" was excellent. It had everything in a movie you could asked for. I recommend this movie highly to everyone, no matter what your ethnic background is - you will walk away from this movie with something. Trust me.

This film was not made for Americans, or even with the thought of marketing outside the USA. Just like Hollywood remakes will redo a story for the US, this took a story written for Cairo and transplanted it to Mexico City without a trace of the original setting. It is framed and acted much like a stage play, and the focus is on the people. It's painful to watch at times, because the story grinds your nose against stories of people who are getting through some unpleasant times in some unpleasant ways and the pace does not let you escape - it is clear they want you to endure something of what the characters are going through. The acting is generally good, there are convincing portraits of a half dozen main characters and the supports aren't bad. Yep, the overall ending is predictable, but not unbelievable and a few of the side stories might surprise you along the way.

I watched the DVD version. It has no extras or options. You get dialog in Spanish, English subtitles, in 4:3 format - no choices. Sound is stereo, color is ok and picture is competent.

This story demonstrates the intertwined and tragic minutia of common folks told in a dramatic and realistic format. The ensemble cast members are at ease with one another as they display acts of beauty and brutality. The theme of love unfolds from the neophyte, to the jaded, to the unabashed. The actors appear natural and believable (unlike some Latin "novelas"), developing their characters in a seamless and effortless fashion. The devotion to cultural stereotypes only lends credibility to the story's environment and development. The attention to detail (Susanita's teeth for example); make the characters as believable and endearing as any in recent memory. This movie is a brilliant look at human tragedy. Watching it with someone you love only makes it more moving and poignant. Excellent!!!

While this movie isn't spectacular, it is a well told story that becomes increasingly intriguing as it unfolds. I initially identified with the Mexican culture portrayed, but foolishly so--the novel (Midaq Alley) is based in Cairo and written by an Egyptian author. The story is that of a neighbourhood, its residents, and how they progress. It is a depressing story of sorts, told from the perspective of the different characters. At first the characters don't seem to have the depth needed to sustain the movie, but as we watch we learn more about each and the decisions they make to "better" their circumstances and the repercussions of those decisions. This is perhaps the best role I have seen Salma Hayek portray. She is, for once, cast in a role that has more depth. For those who like movies, this story is worth the time spent.

A film of surprising depth and frankness, this is no Mexican soap opera. The film is told in chapters, one about each major character. They all come from the same neighborhood and their lives intertwine. For the most part the stories wind up in disappointment, with few moments of sweetness, and some real tragedies. It's not quite a slice of life, but compares very favorably to the similar American film Short Cuts by Robert Altman. Without going into too much detail, it follows a late mid-life 'crisis' of a bar owner named Rutilio who finally allows his inner yearnings to surface, almost at the cost of his family. The second chapter follows Alma (Salma Hayek, the only recognizable name from the cast) as a lovely ghetto girl who is torn by the absence of her fiance who is in America and the desires, needs and temptations of being young, lovely, and inexperienced. The third chapter is about Susanna, the local landlord, middle-aged, homely, and never-been-loved and the trials she puts herself through after a fateful tarot-card reading predicting the imminent appearance of a man in her life. The last chapter, the Return, ties all the strings together as best they can be, because this is life and the strings simply don't tie together that well.

I didn't expect a Mexican film of this frankness - not just sex, but characters having real conversations, smoking grass, getting mixed up in an underworld with a sheen of decency and the expected rotten core - all rotating around the table in the neighborhood bar where the men play dominoes. These comments may not have convinced you to see this movie, but if you did see and liked Short Cuts then I highly recommend this film. And if Short Cuts is gobbledegook to you then I recommend both. Nine out of Ten.

Although the film looks and sounds similar to a soap opera, the story line digs deep into the pockets of poverty and reveals life inside Midaq Alley through the perspective of three characters; Don Ru, Alma, and Susanita. Gender issues revolving around sexuality and the machismo are shown through Don Ru. In the beginning of the film, we see Don Ru scold his son, Chava, for seeming "too gay" with his friend Abel because Chava is spending too much time with Abel when he was supposed to be working at his father's bar. As the film progresses, Don Ru becomes intimate with a young sales boy while his machismo shifts to envelope his anger and resentment towards his wife and disapproving poet friend. Don Ru does not represent financial poverty but the lack of true sexual and self identity.

Gender roles are made apparent through men's domino games at Don Ru's bar where women are portrayed as dull, boring, and bothersome. Alma is the gaze of men in the film because she is young and vibrant, however, that is all she is allowed to be; an object of men's desire. Being raised in poverty, she is drawn to money and a better life but this path takes her to prostitution, drugs, and the loss of her true love.

Susanita represents poverty on many levels; class status, gender, and physical traits which prohibit her from finding a companion or being taken seriously by her society. Although Susanita is not wealthy, she does have the means to help characters along the way, including herself. When she conforms to societal physical standards and gets major dental work, she is finally able to obtain a companion and establish herself in the community, which of course eventually takes a dark turn.

Midaq Alley is a dark comedy that intertwines the life of numerous characters; all connected to each other in some way, showing many levels of poverty and the loss of hope with a splash of bad luck in poor towns like Midaq Alley.

Midaq Alley is the best foreign movie of 1995. The movie take place in Mexico's Downtown in a street named: " Midaq Alley". Basically the film show us the stories of three people from that neighborhood.

Mr Ru whom after 30 tears of marriage is feeling homosexual falling in love with a young guy the same age as his son, making his wife's life miserable.

Susanita and old lady whom never been married and doesn't know what is love, finally she falls for someone not very honest. The other one is Alma , played for Salma Hayek a young, beautiful virgin girl whom is interested in everything about sex and drugs. I highly recommend this movie to everyone. It's worth the money!!

"Miracle Alley" rolls off the tongue better than "Midaq Alley." I haven't read the "source material," but this movie is drenched in Latin American spirit and I find it unfathomable that it has so much in common with a novel set in 1950s Egypt that it needs to have the exact same title. I could be wrong, though.

About half of the movie could be described as a drama concerning the romantic and sexual habits of the residents of a large city. There's the frustrated spouse, the desperate spinster, the hopeless romantic, and the guy just looking to score, all among the backdrop of lower/lower middle class struggles to get mo money. Although the subject matter is similar to that of a telenovela, it's treated more tastefully, and so it works as a drama.

The other half of the work involves various tragedies.

Perhaps the central one involves the hamartia of one of the protagonists. He has a skewed perception of human nature and idealized love that leads to tragic consequences.

Many of the other characters end up getting something they think they want but find out that the grass wasn't as green as they thought.

This film has many characters but few happy endings. Even when they get what they thought they wanted, new unhappiness arises from new large problems they had not foreseen. This is also symbolised in the structure of the film, with the same scene opening every "mini story" that is told from different perspectives.

Ironically the only character who gets a happy ending is one of the most morally bankrupt and unkempt-looking. He gets punished for a crime but when he's finished with that punishment he comes back to enjoy the life he's always loved and known.

Strong acting from most of the cast except the guy who plays Abel, who plays his role in a histrionic style. Although because his plotline is also the least realistic, it might have been done on purpose.

Honourable Mentions: National Lampoon's Vacation. In Midaq Ally, a character in a red sports car is used to represent excitement, seduction, and escape from the mundane. National Lampoon's Vacation uses the same device in a lighter manner, with less dramatic consequences.

The movie Midaq Alley follows different characters to show everyday life for a small community in Mexico while the viewer sees the same story from a different perspective. I think the same scene placed at the beginning of each synopsis that shows some older men playing dominoes in Don Ru's cantina is symbolic because it is representative of an ordinary day and also shows how people in the community gather together and share stories and get to know one another. I feel that it represents the culture in Mexico and emphasizes how everyone looks out for one another, like how Ubaldo looks out for Eusebia's sadness and how Dona Cata looks out for Susanita's feelings, and also how Abel looks out for Chava's well being. By making this scene the establishing shot for each time the viewer sees a different point of view begin, the director is trying to portray how significant gathering for a game of Dominos in the cantina is in the daily lives of those in Midaq Alley. There are also some street scenes where it seems everyone knows one another. I wonder if it is a custom to be so close to neighbors and care for them like family, or if it has to do with the small size of their community. I was not really surprised that the ending was not extremely dramatic. I think it was very fitting to leave things the way they were because the movie was a portrayal of everyday life. I feel that the scenes of the men playing Dominos at Don Ru's cantina are the most important scenes of the film because it tells the viewer that although the characters presented have complex lives, the actions they take to reach their individual happiness are mundane when you take a look at the bigger picture, especially when you realize the men playing dominoes are older and have gone through many life experiences, perhaps they are trying to tell us to relax and not take life so seriously.

This is a very interesting film. The three stories in the film are connected in some way, and yet not completely connected. The first story explores the issue of homosexuality, which I think is a brave idea in a country that is quite religious. The film is beautifully shot, and the locations seem realistic and reflect the daily life of the people.

Mexican cinema is the owner of time, and this little gem is evidence for our court. This is a story of humans and their not so selfless desires and shenanigans. The more we come to know and feel for our players, the more we come to despise them. I love that! The cast is strong, with Salma Hayek leading the fray as a character whose amorous doubts, when showered with gifts, evaporate like tears on a dusty Mexican road. Their are no slouches here, but instead top-notch performances in a story adapted from an Egyptian novel center in Cairo. The nadirs of human nature respect no boundaries. With great directing and cinematography, this compelling flick is sure to poke the wrong buttons in all the right ways. Merci beaucoup.

Evil Eye Reviews

This movie show the true of millions of humans in the world. It is a large movie but it is very interesting. You will not be tired of watching. The hard life of the poor people from Latin America is showed like it is.

This a different and good movie. If you live comfortably and you do not know the bad side of the poverty, you must see this selection, do it.

I thought the film was very good. I like the symmetry of it in it's treatment of the sexes and in its layout. Many, many parallels run through all the relationships. The one big problem with it is that one of the major parallels,the Don's development of "platonic love" and the "fall" of the heroine are not really justified in my eyes, more development would have been nice but as it is it is a very long movie(although the length seemed appropriate). Why does she do what she does except to advance the plot? That is she neither a man that age changes as such without some prior history nor a girl presented as she is at first presented does what she then does. Those that do what she does have a much darker past then we are lead to believe.

As Quintin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" shows, a story can be told in severals points of view. Each person in the story sees it in a particular way and acts accordingly. Salma Hayek looks great and proves to be more than a pretty face. You can't say what makes this movie so great. Maybe the story, maybe the actors, maybe the director, maybe all of above. Any attempt to summarize this picture is useless. You must watch it.

The melodramatic film called El Callejon De Los Milagros tells four stories focusing on different characters that show how their lives are interconnected. The film starts by introducing Rutilio, a hard working bar owner who discovers he is homosexual. The second story introduces Alma, played by familiar Salma Hayek, who dreams of escaping her middle class lifestyle. The plot focuses on Alma, whose goddess-like, untouchable character has ultimate control and is wanted by many men. When introduced into the plot, her establishing shot is a low camera angle and almost Juliet-like as she sits in her window sill looking down at Abel, the man that adores her. The third story revolves around Susana, a woman who dreams of finding a husband and uses tarot cards to find answers. In the last story Chava and Abel return home from the U.S. which stitches the stories together, but also tears everyone apart.

After the boys return, a theme of torn relationships proves nobody can be trusted and viewers begin to learn that this is not a hegemonic model of a Hollywood film. Relationships begin to crumble, scenes are shot at night, giving the story a dangerous tone, and the ending doesn't leave the audience satisfied. Rutilio crushes his wife and son when they learn he is homosexual, Chava is controlling and disloyal to his new wife, and Susana's money is stolen repeatedly by her husband. Losing patience with her boyfriend, Abel, living in the U.S., Alma becomes engaged to be married. When her fiancé dies she is lured by Jose Luis who offers a spontaneous lifestyle of drugs, sex and money. Ultimately, Alma becomes a whore and a cocaine addict and is no longer in control as Jose Luis tears everything away that matters, including her self worth and even Abel. Ultimately Jose Luis is the most powerful and successful character when it comes to getting what he wants; everyone else is left feeling hopeless.

This film is deserving of its many awards as Jorge Fons effectively gives us a story that shows love is not something everyone stumbles upon without effort.

This movie shows us how difficult life can be in our poor Latin America (and in my country México). The story is told in an excellent way by Jorge Fons, giving us different points of view at the same time. I know that not many people is interested in movies from any other country than the USA, but this one is really worth seeing. Ernesto Gomez Cruz deserves a mention apart for his work as "Don Ru", he proves us once again what a good actor he is.

The film is beautifully shot and features strong performances from its cast. It is a must-see for anyone interested in Mexican cinema or social realism.

The film is divided into four chapters, each of which tells the story of one of the main characters. The first chapter, "Chava," tells the story of a young man who dreams of going to the United States to make a better life for himself. The second chapter, "Alma," tells the story of a beautiful young woman who is forced into prostitution after her dreams of becoming a singer are dashed. The third chapter, "Susanita," tells the story of a lonely spinster who is desperate to find love. The fourth chapter, "El regreso," brings all of the characters together as they face the challenges of life in Mexico City.

The film is a powerful and moving portrait of the human condition. It is a film about hope, dreams, and the power of love to overcome adversity. El callejón de los milagros is a must-see for anyone interested in Mexican cinema or social realism.

Here are some of the things that I liked about the film:

The acting was superb. The cast brought the characters to life in a way that was both believable and moving.

The cinematography was beautiful. The film was shot in Mexico City, and the director took full advantage of the city's rich history and culture.

The story was compelling. The film was full of twists and turns, and I was always eager to see what would happen next.

Here are some of the things that I didn't like about the film:

The film was a bit slow at times. The pacing could have been tightened up a bit.

The film was a bit depressing. The characters faced a lot of challenges, and it was sometimes hard to watch.

Overall, I thought El callejón de los milagros was a great film. It was well-made, well-acted, and well-written. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who enjoys Mexican cinema or social realism.