Un mundo maravilloso

No doubt about it, Estrada depicts some Mexico's political and social facts, however I find Herod's Law and A Wonderful World very similar.

I think Luis Estrada directs both movies following the same recipe.

Marginal class appear in both movies pretty good depicted; Mexican politicians as well; then come ridiculous circumstances that surround that lead both, politicians and poor people, beyond they ever dreamed: the politicians is rewarded for his criminal acts while the poor is dragged to his fate.

On Herod's Law the corrupt politician is rewarded becoming a Senator; on a Wonderful World the minister is awarded with Nobel Prize for starving the people. On the first movie the poor has to kill to get whatsoever he deserves (some respect and dignity) on the second movie this marginal family has to kill another family to get one single day of good life.

Herod's Law and A Wonderful World are pretty similar.

This movie was both funny and sad at the time. Leave it Demián Bichir to play a both goofy and sympathetic protagonist trying to make it in this cold world. Check it out for yourself.

I would like to comment on Felipe's opinion about this movie. He says that in Mexico (also my country) the poor people are not as poor as shown in the movie... well, I disagree. In Mexico you can find people even poorer without even shacks falling into pieces, homeless living in the streets, under bridges. He also says the riches are not that rich, and I can't conceive he states that. There are some really wealthy families living in El Pedregal, Santa Fe, Las Lomas; and some politician families are, without any doubt, as rich as they want. And I won't even argue the third state about politicians being THAT corrupt, because statistics talk for themselves and Mexico is shown as the 6° most corrupt country in LA and the 64° in the World (according to the Corruption Perception Index of year 2004).

And yes, the movie is barely OK, but Mexican cinema industry is getting better. And this movie is finally depicting the general situation in Mexico in a funny way, not like other really bad, sad movies. I recommend everyone to see the movie, enjoy it, and definitely, like Felipe says, don't think that's the situation in all the country, although it is in some parts. Watch the movie, and think it is telling just another story that could happen anywhere.

A WONDERFUL WORLD (dir. Luis Estrada) A savage political satire that rashly promotes class warfare and advocates the violent redistribution of wealth within the context of an extremely bitter fairytale. A homeless man is trapped on a windowsill at the Mexican World Financial Center building, and although it appears to be a suicide attempt, it's not. The CEO of the WFC offers a bribe to get him to publicly acknowledge that draconian anti-poverty measures played no part in his decision to end it all. And, through a surreal turn of events, this leads the Mexican federal government to declare 'War On The Poor' rather than to continue the pointless and unwinnable 'War On Poverty'. The film is a bold and impetuous attack on fascist global policies, a complacent and corrupt Fourth Estate, and the 'filthy rich' (AKA 'job creators'). Kick Out The Jams Brothers And Sisters!!!

With regard to the comment entitled "Political propaganda by leftist artists" I'd like to point some things out. I saw this movie when it came out a few months ago in Mexico, where I had been studying all year. Like one of Estrada's first movies (La ley de Herodes), this one is also a severe political critique that attacks both the former PRI government (supposedly left wing) and the current PAN government (supposedly right wing). I think it should be noted, however, that while Fox's victory 6 years ago marked a BIG step towards political progress for Mexico, overall Mexicans are disappointed in the administration and the lack of significant changes that followed Fox's entrance into the office (not all entirely his fault, of course, given the left over PRI population that still has power in the government). And even though the PAN politicians might have cleaner hands than former PRI politicians, I don't think that the majority of the people in Mexico really distinguish between them that way. That is to say, I really think they just assume that all politicians, regardless of their party, are stealing money. Everyone I talked to while I was down there said they didn't have the slightest idea who they were going to vote for because all of the candidates were unappealing and untrustworthy, and it was all going to come down to the question, "Who's the lesser evil?"

So this leftist propaganda seems unlikely to me since López Obrador would be included in that category; even more so since he was originally a member of the PRI, and the PRD (his current party) is really just considered PRI #2, composed of unhappy PRI members who weren't being chosen for the positions they wanted. So, to sum all that up, the movie is critiquing Mexican politics in general and no party or politician is free from scrutiny here.

And finally, it's worth a rental if for no other reason than Damian Alcazar is absolutely wonderful!