Ruleta (1999)

User Rating:

5.6/10   

Director:

Roberto Santiago

Writers:

Santiago García-Clairac (writer)
Jesús Olmo (writer)

Genre:

Short

Plot:

Five housewives drink coffee together in a kitchen. They talk about supermarket special offers while playing Russian roulette. |

Plot Keywords:

Russian Roulette

Awards:

1 win & 1 nomination

Cast

Aitana Sánchez-Gijón	...	Mujer 4
Loles León	...	Mujer 5
Mirta Ibarra	...	Mujer 2
Mapi Sagaseta	...	Mujer 3
Blanca Rodríguez	...	Mujer 1
Eddy Murphy Jr.	...	Bebé

Also Known As:

Roulette (Canada: English title)

Runtime:

11 min

Country:

Spain | Canada

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby SR

Filming Locations:

Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

Soundtrack:

El Tango de Ruleta

Frightening and Fascinating and Weirdly Fun

Okay, the last time I had to cringe through a Russian roulette scene occurred in "The Deer Hunter." Remember Walken? Remember there being a valid (sort of) reason for his playing the game? In this short, the housewives play Russian roulette because they're bored. As strange as this sounds, there is a realism to it I cannot explain. They play the game as they go about the regular conversational circles of a group of Spanish housewives (I know this personally, being a product of Spanish upbringing). Mirta Ibarra stands out in particular as the only clue explaining motivations behind their playing the crazy game: the 3 for 2 sales in the supermarkets as a metaphor for how women are duped. Though Ibarra rants her way through this in characteristic manner (did you see "Hasta Cierto Punto"? ot how about "Guantanamera"? or "Fresa y Chocolate" all by her late hubby Gutierrez Alea). Find this movie (it's a freebie on a few internet movie websites) and watch it. It will remain in the mind a long time after the 20 minutes are up.