Principio y fin (1993)

The film tells the story of the Boteros, a middle-class Mexican family struggling against poverty after their father's death. Ignacia (Egurrola) is the Boteros mother, a desperate woman who... See full summary »

Director:

Arturo Ripstein

Writers:

Paz Alicia Garciadiego, Naguib Mahfouz (novel)

Stars:

Ernesto Laguardia, Julieta Egurrola, Blanca Guerra

15 wins & 4 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ernesto Laguardia	...	Gabriel Botero
Julieta Egurrola	...	Ignacia Botero
Blanca Guerra	...	Julia
Verónica Merchant	...	Natalia
Bruno Bichir	...	Nicolás Botero
Alberto Estrella	...	Guama Botero
Alonso Echánove	...	Cariñoso
Lucía Muñoz	...	Mireya Botero
Luis Felipe Tovar	...	César
Julián Pastor	...	Luján
Luisa Huertas	...	Isabel
Jorge Fegán	...	Absalón
Ernesto Yáñez	...	Polvorón
Alejandro Parodi	...	Rector
Darío T. Pie	...	Maurer

Storyline

The film tells the story of the Boteros, a middle-class Mexican family struggling against poverty after their father's death. Ignacia (Egurrola) is the Boteros mother, a desperate woman who chooses to sacrifice the destiny of her three older children, in order to protect Gabriel (Laguardia) the youngest one. She believes Gabriel will climb the social structure and bring back the lost fortune to the family. But destiny has other plans for the Boteros and tragedy will overcome eventually. Based on the novel of Nobel Prize winner Naguib Mahfouz.

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Plot Keywords:

poverty | family relationships | melodrama | social climber | based on novel

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

Official Site

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

9 September 1994 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

The Beginning and the End

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alameda Films, Consejo Nacional para la Cultura y las Artes (CONACULTA), Fondo de Fomento a la Calidad Cinematográfica

Technical Specs

Runtime:

188 min

Sound Mix:

Ultra Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Version of Bidaya wa nihaya (1961)

User Reviews

a tragic story: one of the best 90's films

I think this is one of the best 90's films. Ripstein's masterpiece ( I'm sure by now he knows he want make any film that equals this) is based upon a novel by Nobel awarded Naguib Mafouz. Another Mexican whose story comes from Mafouz is 'El callejón de los milagros' by Jorge Fons. The story develops the 'fall of middle class family' with as much intensity as possible. Good cast. Julieta Egurrola is great in the character of Ignacia Botero (mother of the family). In this film Ripstein catches every shade of the story and is more content than other films. The only objection I had is the last sequence of the film, which is wonderfully shot and edited but maybe not according to the general tone of the rest. I forgot to mention there's even a flair of humour.