Danzón

It´s a great movie

I saw this movie 13 years ago in a premiere in the former cinema picasso, from then and now I see over and over again this movie.

This movie talks the life of julia (maria rojo) his behavior in the job (operator phone) his daughter, and his principal passion the dance calls "DANZON".

Every wednesday she goes to dance with a friend and she meets with his partner in dance carmelo, One day he don´t return to dance and then julia are looking for him (she thinks he has a problem with the mexican laws and he runs away to veracruz), she´s sad by the notice and she runs to veracruz for make a search for him.

In this movie we looking in a frame the old mexican rairoad calls "EL MEXICANO" and all the city of veracruz.

She meets new people, new friends (specially a man dressed like a woman)a hooker, the owner of the hotel and a younger man when she discover she´s still atractive by the men (the russian guy, carmelo, the young man).

The movie take´s a trip in the life of julia before and after and finish when she leaves veracruz and meet again carmelo and they dance

If you have the oportunitty to see the movie in tv or dvd or vhs SEE IT because it´s the few mexican movies made perfectly

my qualification 10/10

I had no real expectations for this but it was definitely worth a viewing, and it's really well-filmed.

Julia is a middle aged phone operator in Mexico City who divides her time between her job, her daughter and the "Danzon": an elegant, romantic Cuban dance popular in Caribbean Latin America.

Julia wants to taste one great romance in her life before she feels she will have lost what's left of her beauty. Like a ritual, each Wednesday Julia dances the Danzon with the dashing, mysterious and still handsome Carmelo in the old "Salon Colonia". They've danced for years but barely know each other.

One night Carmelo disappears without a trace. Suddenly bereft, Julia abandons well-regulated obligations and responsibilities and sets off on a long distance odyssey, searching for her missing cavalier. These comic, touching and ultimately triumphant adventures lead Julia to a deeper comprehension of the meaning of life and true happiness.

What would a film for women look like? Well, one possibility is Maria Novaro's wonderful reversal of all of the expectations of male-oriented films. Playing with a number of genres and turning them on their heads, Novaro gives us the story of Julia, an ordinary late thirty-something woman, who, used to playing a traditionally passive, "feminine" role, takes on the active role of searching for her missing danzon partner in a journey that takes her from gloomy Mexico City to sun-drenched Veracruz. In the process she changes from object of the male gaze to bearer of the gaze. The film boasts a super performance from Maria Rojo as Julia and fine supporting performances by Carmen Salinas, Tito Vasconcelos, and Victor Carpenteiro. It is saturated with fantastic Mexican music, especially songs written by Veracruz' native son, Agustin Lara. And then there is the dancing. The danzon, where a single glance may give the game away, becomes a perfect metaphor for Julia's journey of self-discovery.

Like the title says, The Dance ! According to wikipedia: "Danzón is the official musical genre and dance of Cuba. It is also an active musical form in Mexico, and is much loved in Puerto Rico as well. Written in 2/4 time, the danzón is a slow, formal partner dance." In the story, Maria Rojo is Julia, who likes to dance. when she's not dancing, she's working or looking after her daughter in Mexico City. but then Julia's dance partner goes missing. and everyone has their own idea of what might have happened to him. so Julia goes off to VeraCruz to look for him! a fun scene where Julia reads all the ships names in various languages as she walks along the piers. she makes some great new friends, and has a grand adventure. and we get to see some great scenery of VeraCruz. directed by Maria Novaro. Written by Beatriz Novaro. Maria born in 1951. Beatriz born in 1953... sisters? it's fun.