Arráncame la vida

I read Angeles Mastreta's book when it first came out and I just loved it. She's written some more afterwards, but I never really liked them as I enjoyed "Arrancame la vida". When I knew that a movie about this story was going to be done I read the book again, and to be honest I went to see the movie with the intention of reinforce that "stories are always better read in books, than depicted in movies". Well I was wrong.

To my agreeable surprise I enjoyed every minute of it, just as much as I did reading the book for the first time. You easily digest a witty yet sarcastic story, picturing a post revolutionary country society that grabs you from the very first second. All the charactersare very well pictured and the scenery is just perfect.

Thank you for this kind of Mexican cinema: enjoyable, brilliant and proudly capable of the quality to be appreciated by any kind of audience of the world.

With these gushing reviews where this is a tale of a woman enthralled by a sophisticated older man. When in reality it was a poorly conceived story of a lecherous old man preying on a naive juvenile with way too much gratuitous nudity which is a dead give-away to a poor script.

There are ways to portray emotional and physical affection without the women in these movie having to bare their assets in order to get people to watch this drivel. I lost interest in the entire plot when this weak AF cliched sex scenes and especially when Catalina was underage. But this is what we are left with now-a-days as the quality of the end product continues to sink below muck.

Add the dead pan acting of various cast members to the cliched meeting Catalina and the band director as how weak this adaptation of a better reading product which often the case. It seems that these writers just can't take the gist of a good book and get it on film without screwing things up and than having to toss in female nudity to cover up another failed attempt.

Read the Book and bypass this nonsensical rubbish.

(Stupid IMDb. It doesn't get that I'm trying to type this comment in Spanish. OK. Here we go again in English)

First, two strong statements: I have not read the book and I'm from Puebla (the city where the story takes place).

I don't know how good of an adaptation this movie is, but as a cinematic product, "Arráncame la vida" works just fine. The leading actors, as well as the rest of the cast, offer solid performances. Giménez Cacho, as always, portrays Andrés Ascencio very nicely. He depicts a son of-a-bitch general, who -despite this characteristics or because of these- is highly enjoyable. The macho humor that this character uses, gives movement to the story. On top of that, we have Ana Claudia Talancón, the astonishing Catalina Guzmán. I'm not the biggest fan of her but I have to say her performance is flawless.

The references to the "poblano factor" (poblanez) gives a proper setting to the actions of the story, which mentions a lot of local moments and characters of the 30's and 40's. However, the universal value of the movie (and the novel, I guess) remains. Caciques, corruption and battles over power exist everywhere, not only in México but all over the world.

About directing and production, again, flawless. With a nearly 7 million dollar budget, "Arráncame la vida" is the most expensive movie in México to this date. However it has the quality of any Hollywood picture that surely would need way more than that to achiev the same results. The cinematography and the powerful music give the final touches to a production which, I'm sure, the audience from Puebla enjoyed and related to their own experiences and long time memories. Some nervous laughs could be heard in a packed premier at Puebla with members of the finest families of the region. You go guess what they thought of this portrait...

Despite of that, people would be satisfied with the story from what I could see and hear.

Summing up: I strongly recommend this picture. It is not the "biggest Mexican picture" but, no doubt, is a solid project with high production values. I've never read any of Mastretta's books but now I want to start.

I love the drive in this movie. It sweeps from country to city with wonderful undertones and great panoramic scenes. The actors did a great job and the directing was superb. The story is told in a hurry up and wait fashion that I usually see in Italian films. The ruthlessness of the general is played down with the tender way he treats his wife and family. It leaves you confused and unsure who to root for. I also love when actors can pull of playing very young to mature and have you believing it. Entitlement is a universal theme where the very rich takes advantage of the poor. I loved the lead actress how she played the part and the story kept going as if it would never end and you wanted to keep watching. It kind of makes one wish there was a sequel to this historic fiction based upon real characters.

Living in the USA I am daily subjected to a negative view of Mexico and its people, whom certain Americans feel should keep quiet, stay in Mexico and do as they are told (by good old Uncle Sam); therefore, it is a pleasure to watch a film, which counters this negative stereotype and shows a beautiful country with its own way of life - sometimes good, sometimes bad. The political system may appear corrupt to the American style, but it is theirs and some of them achieve their aims by violence rather than purchasing them. Mexico is not alone in military strong men running the country. I have not seen many Mexican films, "Like Water for chocolate" was probably the first, but I have watched several telenovellas and enjoy seeing the ways and traditions of our next door neighbor. I gave this fine film a 10 as it was excellent, and I hope to see more such films in the future.