El coronel no tiene quien le escriba (1999)

User Rating:

6.9/10   

Director:

Arturo Ripstein

Writers:

Paz Alicia Garciadiego (writer)
Gabriel García Márquez (novel)

Release Date:

2 June 1999 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Basada en la novela de Gabriel García Márquez.

Plot:

Cada viernes El Coronel se coloca el único traje que tiene y acude al muelle para aguardar la carta que anuncie la llegada de su pensión...

Plot Keywords:

Debt | Poverty | Religion | Mexico | Priest

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Fernando Luján	...	El coronel
Marisa Paredes	...	Lola
Salma Hayek	...	Julia
Rafael Inclán	...	Padre Ángel
Ernesto Yáñez	...	Don Sabas
Daniel Giménez Cacho	...	Nogales
Esteban Soberanes	...	Germán
Patricia Reyes Spíndola	...	Jacinta
Odiseo Bichir	...	Dr. Pardo
Julián Pastor	...	Lugones
Eugenio Lobo	...	Álvaro
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Jacobo Atri
Enrique Castillo
Jorge Castillo	...	El cartero
Juana Garza
Mercedes Gironella
Osami Kawano
Eligio Meléndez
Loló Navarro
Leticia Valenzuela

Also Known As:

No One Writes to the Colonel (International: English title)
Pas de lettre pour le colonel (France)
Personne n'écrit au colonel (France)

Runtime:

Argentina:118 min | France:118 min | Mexico:118 min | Spain:122 min

Country:

Mexico | France | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Iceland:L | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | France:U | Hong Kong:I | Spain:T

Filming Locations:

Veracruz, Mexico

Company:

Amaranta Films

A Slow and Touching Movie, Which Reflects the Social and Financial Situation of Most of the Elder Retired Persons in Third World Countries

In a poor village in Mexico, the Colonel (Fernando Luján) lives with his asthmatic wife Lola (Marisa Paredes) in an old house. Lola still grieves the death of their son Augustin some time ago. The colonel has been expecting for his pension of fighter in a war against Catholic church for almost twenty-seven years. However, for political reasons, the present government wants to forget this old fight. Without having any possession or money, but a valuable gamecock, they struggle to survival with the expectation of the acknowledgement letter from the government, recognizing the law and paying for the delayed pension. This slow and touching movie reflects the social and financial situation of most of the elder retired persons in third world countries. In Brazil, most of the retired persons has to survive with about US$ 80,00 per month. The debts of the colonel in the story were made to pay for a graveyard for his son, otherwise he would be buried as an indigent. Outstanding performance of the cast, in a very sad story that is reality in the poor countries. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): (`Não se Escreve ao Coronel') (Do not Write to the Colonel)