La última mirada

Lets start by saying that this film was written, produced and directed by Patricia Arriaga Jordan, sister of Guillermo Arriaga ( very famous for his scripts of Amores perros, 21 grams and Babel). When I first read about this film I was looking forward to watch it in the cinema but it never got a theatrical release ( or if it did it was very limited) Now, that is such a shame because this movie is in many levels superior to other films that get more attention just because they are nominated for Oscars. This is a simple story in its structure but very complex and deep in character development.

Its one of those movies that truly stays with you, every single element of the movie is there for a reason, there is not a single bad scene on the movie. Performances ( specially Marisol Centeno) are real, moving and bi- dimensional).

It also has the virtue of not letting you know how its going to end. You think you know, but in the end turns to be something different and absolutely beautiful.

In a few words, this is an excellent film, a must see for all the people that says that there are no good Mexican movies. Definitely deserves more recognition. Kudos to everyone for this wonderful film

(2006) The Last Gaze/ La Ultima mirada (In Spanish with English subtitles) DRAMA

Produced, written and directed by Patricia Arriaga-Jordán, plot less, and not for everybody since it's very subtle which 'states' a long journey between an older man and a very young lady destined to be together with viewers wondering when. Homero (Sergi Mateu) whose a renowned respected painter who while enjoying some of the best days of his life, suddenly experiencing his life collapsing before his eyes while teaching a painting class. And then finding out that the result of his "luminous chromatic" blindness was hereditary, he becomes isolated, ignoring phone calls as well as distancing himself from seeing his father until nuns at a mosque eventually convinced him to go and do that! During all this, a young lady, Mei (Marisol Centeno) whose the daughter of a free spirited prostitute gets sent to a brothel along with her grandparents to work as a maid while her mother goes away. Because of a lack of education and problems with her boyfriend, her problems started stemming from being bad to worst. Because the beginning of the film showed what appear to be some blood stains on some bed covers as well as some sheets before cutting back and forth between the two main characters, the correct way to watch this one is by fast- forwarding while playing to see the end before watching it again from the beginning since viewers assume that it's going to be something bloody and grotesque only to be that it really isn't the case after all, but the film still drags it's viewers to a long path to get there except that 'others' such as myself can see this film as an impoverished young girl with high moral standards despite coming from a very negative upbringing since not all girls of some of the poorest parts of Mexico are not all prostitutes, some strive to become respectful and sometimes to seek someone who can grant those girls with a little respect is sometimes the only way to start. More like a 75% but I'm going to give it an 80%!