Rojo amanecer

i recently saw this movie again, and it just made me feel sick, because even though that actually happened 34 years ago, and we as a society think that so much has changed, you soon realize that it hasn't, because that could actually happen again in this day and age, and it actually has, of course we don't hear anything about it, as we didn't hear much about it back then, there's a scene in the movie, when the family after thinking the worst is over, sit around the tv to watch the news, and they are shocked to hear the news anchor reports about just a minor disturbance, with some injured and some dead, 34 years latter we still don't know the whole story, but what we do know is that it wasn't a minor disturbance, hundreds of students, most in their late teens or early twenty's where slaughtered like pigs in the middle of the street by the mexican army, that's the reason all student movement's are doomed to fail, because politicians who are supposed to be the ones looking after us don't think twice about murdering the innocent as long as they get to stay in power, a lot of people don't understand, and say "well they asked for it" or "what where they protesting", they where protesting a corrupt government that didn't think twice about doing what it did, there's some very violent scenes in the movie, but i don't think it was enough, i wish this movie was so raw and in your face that it would have been able to wake up everyone who is still living in the dream world.

This is one of the greatest movies I've ever seen. It is, I can't deny, really crude even if it doesn't show images of the killing itself, but it clearly reflects what Mexico and its students went through that year. It is not a political correct movie, and the fact that talents such as Demián Bichir and Héctor Bonilla are in it has to show the magnitude of its quality. It's a pity that still today it's so hard to find and it's not shown on open TV, and it's a pity that still now a days there's so much info that we don't know about the subject, and it's a pity that still now a days some people think that those students and all those people gathered at the Plaza de las Tres Culturas actually deserved what they got. They were students, barely starting to live, for God's sake! Heard Cuarón is doing a new version of the 68 massacre, we gotta see how that goes, but I trust that he'll do justice to it, he is a great director and he was, after all, a kid at the moment all of this happened. He lived through this. I hope that movie does come out. "2 de octubre no se olvida"

When I saw the film as it was released in the theaters, I thought it was a superb film. More than a decade later, a part of such awe is gone. The plot? A middle-class family undergoes the violent events happened in Tlatelolco, Mexico City, in 1968.

The sound recording and editing was most probably done by butchers. Clumsy ones. The firing sounds seem to be stolen from a Pink Panther cartoon episode. I suppose –though– that the budget was small, so I will not insist too much on it.

There is nonetheless some VERY good acting in here, performed by Héctor Bonilla, María Rojo and Demián Bichir. My highlight performance happens when Bonilla angrily addresses his sons at the family table, after arriving from work. Sadly, most of the other actors perform poorly (Bruno Bichir, although decently acting,is decidedly overshadowed by his brother). The pamphlet girl's acting is wooden and many other actors seemed to have been simply borrowed from a student theatrical company. The cops (judiciales) are almost a caricature and -even though they can be brutal in real life- suffer from overacting.

The scenery is flawless and honest. Lighting is OK, but nothing out of the ordinary. Some dialog lines are marvelously embellished and made "real" by Bonilla's and Rojo's delivery, although the dialog lines in general tend to sound kitschy, biased and overdone when dealing with political issues.

Recommended to those who want to analyze the evolution of the recent Mexican cinema and to evil cops who are looking forward into improving their verbal intimidation techniques.

La película es un suceso horrible que pasó en México, me hizo sentir desesperación, enojo, tristeza y pánico. La forma en la que la historia está narrada es muy inteligente! Se filmó la película con muy poco dinero y clandestinamente, la considero un must de cine mexicano, muy muy recomendable.

Very good article in today's (Oct. 3, 2008) LA Times re the massacre.

The "news peg" is the memorial March held in the capital on Oct 2, 2008.

They mention that Marcelo Ebrard ordered flags flown at half-mast, a major recognition of the event.

It covers the continuing problem of impunity.

It does not, however, mention events in Guadalajara.

The article skims through various attempts to investigate and fix culpability over the years.

It also mentions calls from Amensty International and other human rights organizations for investigations and justice.