Mexican Beauty

She quickly went on to fame in Desperado and From Dusk Til Dawn, but this, Salma Hayek's second film role, shows her acting talent.

In the first of four tales, she is just window dressing. An object of desire for a young boy (Bruno Bichir). While she is sitting, Don Ru (Ernesto Gómez Cruz) is yelling at his son (Juan Manuel Bernal) for acting like "a queer" while he himself pursues Jimmy (Esteban Soberanes); and Susanita (Margarita Sanz) is getting her fortune told by Almita's (Hayek) mother, Catalina (María Rojo).

After Don Ru's son runs away thinking he has done something awful, and he buries his head in his wife's lap moaning. the story starts all over with an emphasis on Almita. She, tragically, ends up with Jose Luis (Daniel Giménez Cacho) and disappears.

Susanita is growing older and desperate to find a man. She fancies Don Ru's son, but ends up with Guicho (Luis Felipe Tovar).

So, does the prodigal son return? Does Almicita come home? How are things to end? The story is first rate and it has you on the edge of you seat wondering how it all ties together.

This story demonstrates the intertwined and tragic minutia of common folks told in a dramatic and realistic format. The ensemble cast members are at ease with one another as they display acts of beauty and brutality. The theme of love unfolds from the neophyte, to the jaded, to the unabashed. The actors appear natural and believable (unlike some Latin "novelas"), developing their characters in a seamless and effortless fashion. The devotion to cultural stereotypes only lends credibility to the story's environment and development. The attention to detail (Susanita's teeth for example); make the characters as believable and endearing as any in recent memory. This movie is a brilliant look at human tragedy. Watching it with someone you love only makes it more moving and poignant. Excellent!!!

A film of surprising depth and frankness, this is no Mexican soap opera. The film is told in chapters, one about each major character. They all come from the same neighborhood and their lives intertwine. For the most part the stories wind up in disappointment, with few moments of sweetness, and some real tragedies. It's not quite a slice of life, but compares very favorably to the similar American film Short Cuts by Robert Altman. Without going into too much detail, it follows a late mid-life 'crisis' of a bar owner named Rutilio who finally allows his inner yearnings to surface, almost at the cost of his family. The second chapter follows Alma (Salma Hayek, the only recognizable name from the cast) as a lovely ghetto girl who is torn by the absence of her fiance who is in America and the desires, needs and temptations of being young, lovely, and inexperienced. The third chapter is about Susanna, the local landlord, middle-aged, homely, and never-been-loved and the trials she puts herself through after a fateful tarot-card reading predicting the imminent appearance of a man in her life. The last chapter, the Return, ties all the strings together as best they can be, because this is life and the strings simply don't tie together that well.

I didn't expect a Mexican film of this frankness - not just sex, but characters having real conversations, smoking grass, getting mixed up in an underworld with a sheen of decency and the expected rotten core - all rotating around the table in the neighborhood bar where the men play dominoes. These comments may not have convinced you to see this movie, but if you did see and liked Short Cuts then I highly recommend this film. And if Short Cuts is gobbledegook to you then I recommend both. Nine out of Ten.

Midaq Alley is the best foreign movie of 1995. The movie take place in Mexico's Downtown in a street named: " Midaq Alley". Basically the film show us the stories of three people from that neighborhood.

Mr Ru whom after 30 tears of marriage is feeling homosexual falling in love with a young guy the same age as his son, making his wife's life miserable.

Susanita and old lady whom never been married and doesn't know what is love, finally she falls for someone not very honest. The other one is Alma , played for Salma Hayek a young, beautiful virgin girl whom is interested in everything about sex and drugs. I highly recommend this movie to everyone. It's worth the money!!

This movie is an impressive and exciting story about the people,their feelings,love,desperation,anger and hope.Although the scenario is a little bit melodramatic , the film is a must indeed.It is quite different from the blockbusters with happy ends because it is real and outstanding.Several lives and fates are mixed in it.Every character has their own unique personality.They all have to take decisions for their lives and have to fight for happiness.The actors are very nice.The stunning Hayek makes a good performance .Gomes Krus is also convincing as a man who becomes gay after 30 years marriage.The supporting roles are also well-played.Don't think that this is some kind of soap opera- it is something deeper...