The Ruination of Men (2000) La perdición de los hombres (original title)

Director:

Arturo Ripstein

Writer:

Paz Alicia Garciadiego

Release Date:

8 November 2000 (Spain)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Drama

Plot:

Two men jump out from behind some cacti and beat a man over the head with a rock. They then take the body to the dead man's hut...

Plot Keywords:

Police Station | Baseball | Widow | Black Comedy | Women Fight

Awards:

5 wins

Cast

Patricia Reyes Spíndola
Rafael Inclán
Luis Felipe Tovar
Carlos Chávez
Alejandra Montoya
Marco Zapata
Leticia Valenzuela
Osami Kawano
Eligio Meléndez
Ernesto Yáñez

Directed by
Arturo Ripstein

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Paz Alicia Garciadiego

Produced by
Álvaro Garnica	....	associate producer: Mexico
Belén Giménez	....	delegate producer: Canal +, Spain
Myriam Mateos	....	delegate producer: Canal +, Spain
José María Morales	....	co-producer
Alejandro Ripstein	....	producer: Gardenia Producciones
Gabriel Ripstein	....	producer: Gardenia Producciones
Ramon Salgado	....	co-producer
Jorge Sánchez	....	producer
Laura Imperiale	....	producer (uncredited)

Original Music by
Leoncio Lara		(as Leoncio Lara 'Bon')

Cinematography by
Esteban de Llaca
Guillermo Granillo

Film Editing by
Carlos Puente

Art Direction by
Claudio Contreras		(as Claudio 'Pache' Contreras)

Costume Design by
Leticia Palacios

Makeup Department
Leticia Palacios	....	makeup artist

Production Management
Walter Navas	....	production manager
Luz María Reyes	....	production supervisor

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
María Raquel Dioni	....	assistant director (as María Dioni)
Bruno Madariaga	....	assistant director
Mayra Segura	....	assistant director

Art Department
Miguel Cervantes	....	property master (as Miguel 'Tyson' Cervantes)

Sound Department
Jaime Baksht	....	sound mixer
Carlos Becker	....	sound
Antonio Diego	....	direct sound
Gabriela Espinoza	....	direct sound
Andrés Franco	....	sound designer
Humberto González	....	sound
Mario González	....	sound
Carlos Klachquin	....	sound stereo consultant: Dolby
Sergio Zavala	....	boom operator
Eric Dounce	....	sound effects editor (uncredited)
Enrique Greiner	....	dialogue editor (uncredited)

Camera and Electrical Department
Carlo Cogliano	....	assistant camera
Miguel Enríquez	....	assistant camera
Héctor Fernández	....	assistant camera
Álvaro Muñoz	....	still photographer

Editorial Department
Vanessa Hernández	....	post-production coordinator
Carlos A. Morales	....	post-production coordinator (as Carlos Morales)

Music Department
Rodrigo Garibay	....	musician

Other crew
Miren Gea Aranoa	....	press promotion
Miren Gea Aranoa	....	public relations
Raymundo Díaz-González	....	assistant production coordinator (as Raymundo Díaz González)
Salvador Flores	....	vcr operator
Jaime García	....	production assistant
Javi González	....	staff (as Javier González)
Rodolfo González	....	assistant production coordinator
César Hernández Galicia	....	advisor
Thomas Krempke	....	laboratory chief: Swiss Effects
Froylán López	....	head of staff
Víctor Muro	....	staff
Itzia Pintado	....	production coordinator
Juan Pablo Pérez	....	production assistant
Rosalba Ruiz	....	secretary
Moisés Salazar	....	staff

Thanks
Alejandro Huerta	....	thanks
Manolo Pérez	....	dedicatee

Production Companies

• Canal+ España
• Filmanía S.L.
• Gardenia Producciones
• Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE)
• Televisión Española (TVE)
• Wanda Films

Distributors

• Vanguard Cinema (2006) (USA) (DVD)
• Wanda Visión S.A. (Spain)

Also Known As:

"La perdición de los hombres" - Mexico (original title)

Runtime:

106 min

Country:

Mexico | Spain

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:M | Spain:13

Company:

Canal+ España

2.5 stars

As the film opens, we see two men preparing to ambush a third man, who is walking along a trail with a wheelbarrow. They kill him, take him to a house, and steal his fancy boots. Later we are introduced to the victim's widow and his girlfriend.

To me, the film started slow, and didn't become very interesting until at least halfway through, although it was often funny throughout. Near the end we see the opening scene again, with context to understand better what was really happening.

This dark comedy is filmed in a dusty looking black and white. It's possible that if I had been less tired that I would have liked it better, but as it stands I can only give it a very marginal recommendation. Seen at the San Francisco International Film Festival on 4/30/2002.