Por la libre

"Por la libre", a delightful comedy, directed by Juan Carlos LLaca, shows a new voice in the Mexican cinema. Mr. LLaca gives us a nicely paced movie. Written for the screen by Antonio Armonia, the film deals with what happens in a lot of families after a strong older member of it, in this case, the grandfather, dies suddenly. "Por la libre" has a great musical score by Gabriela Ortiz and the crisp cinematography of Checco Varese.

One of the problems in carrying out the wishes of the patriarch is made clear right after the will is read. There is a bank account the old man has left to a friend who leaves in Acapulco. His wish is to be cremated and have the ashes scattered in the waters of that scenic city by the Pacific, where he would have gone to reside, had he lived long enough.

While the three siblings squabble about what to do with the house and other financial matters, one of the two grandsons, Rocco, a young man who appears to be a rebel, wants to do the right thing while his father and the others are fighting. He decides to 'borrow' grandpa's old Mercedes that has been left to his cousin Rodrigo, and go to Acapulco to fulfill the old man's wishes. After he has stolen the urn that contains the ashes, Rodrigo watches as his cousin is about to leave, and catches up with him and the two embark into a voyage that will make them closer.

In Acapulco, Rocco and Rodrigo find the key to solving their dead grandfather's hidden secret, that no one within the family, had a clue about. In fact, both stumble into the mystery by mere coincidence when Rocco sees an advertisement for a hotel where they stay while making preparations for the ritual of scattering the ashes at sunrise.

Mr. LLaca is to be congratulated for getting good performances out of the three principals. Osvaldo Benavides and Rodrigo Cachero play the two cousins, Rocco and Rodrigo with conviction as they seem to be having fun with their roles. The gorgeous Ana de la Reguera plays Maria, the daughter of the owner of the hotel where the two cousins end up staying.

"Por la libre" deserves a viewing because of all the elements that the director, Mr. LLaca brought together to the film. The movie is well crafted and it's fun to look at. In a way, it's one of the best films that have come out of Mexico in recent years.

This movie comes as a very good example of how our cinema has walked just very little steps in recent years. Sure, the effort is there, but the levels it tries to reach with it's premise are kept constantly one or even two steps ahead in the motion. The screenplay it's not that bad, but it's main problem lies mostly with the acting; the people in charge are basically TV ones and they don't get to express all that I think was on the paper to give the characters a believable profile.

The premise involves the greed of a family and it's love disfunction. Mister Carnicero has died, and his two sons are on a vulture labor behind the money left. One of them is divorced, near to marry again, and has a son -with his first wife- named Rocco, a rebel kind of type guy who was the closest to the dead grandpa; the other one, played by renamed actor Otto Sirgo, has raised a restrained semi yuppie named Rodrigo. The family doesn't respect grandpa's last wishes like rejecting any kind of after death religious ceremony (they celebrate a mass post mortem}, and to throw as soon as possible Carnicero's ashes in the pacific ocean at Acapulco's shore {they keep delaying the task while trying to sell the big house in order to split the money}.

Since here, the film takes a turn into a road movie. Full of frustration because of this, Rocco grabs grandpa's ashes and steals an old Mercedes that Rodrigo inherited {the one that his repressive father won't let him drive}, and head for Acapulco to accomplish mister Carnicero last wish: to rest in the ocean. Rodrigo watch this and gets in the car, Rocco explains what he's up to, and then both goes to the coastal city without permission and only a few pesos in the pockets. I won't tell more because I don't want to spoil anything but, it's supposed that this characters, Rocco and Rodrigo, doesn't like each other very much because of their antagonist minds. One's a yuppie and the other one is a rebel soul but they don't seem to have any problems getting along in the short trip, and once in Acapulco, it's even worst the showcase of different personalities. They actually have only one fist fight. I couldn't buy it even though I tried. The plot has in the middle a twist that gives us another perspective about all the circumstances surrounding grandpa's last wish, and despite it's a nice one, it's not enough to prop up the history.

My guess it's that Por la libre was intended to be a free spirit comedy about family relationships and at some point, how the youth is and behaves in Mexico, but in the end, this film only shows a mediocre display of resources that doesn't fit well in many points. Besides that, this isn't a terrible experience as a light comedy, but if you're looking for good recent mexican movies, try Amores perros or Y tu mama tambien, those two films sure are very strong, profound, and full of meanings.

Por La Libre is a very good Mexican movie, actually, one of the best we have in Mexican Cinema. Even though it´s a pretty light movie, you can take in consideration many good stuff about this one. First, the story is a very original one.Second, The characters are also original and different from each other. Third, The acting is great by a very believable Osvaldo Benavides, and a surprising hit acting by Rodrigo Cachero, and of course with the beautyful Ana de la Reguera as a Hotel owner´s daughter.

If it gets to show near your city, don´t hesitate, GO!

While definitely not as popular as the later "Y tu Mama' tambien", "Por La Libre" is a slice of dysfunctional family life among Mexico City's "fresa" or elite class. The film takes its name from a colloquial expression referring to traveling on Mexican roads; you can go on the toll roads (de cuota) or the federal/free ones "por la libre"...a point which the two cousins argue over that ultimately influences the entire direction of their trip/the film. The cinematography and overall was definitely well done, but the overall "feel" of the film really doesn't do justice to Mexican cinema. In fact, though it does manage to capture/portray many of the most common hypocritical and distasteful aspects of upper-class Mexican society (especially those with Spanish emigres among them), the film comes off more as Spanish (maybe because of the patriarch and his friend having such prominent roles). Interesting...but not at all ground-breaking.