Ratas de la ciudad (1986) User Reviews

Another Trujillo life-on-the-other-side tragedy

[woodsie-4 · 7/10 · 8 June 2006]

Sadly I saw this film as part of a tribute to Valentin Trujillo, who died recently. One of Mexico's more prolific leading men and directors, Ratas de la Cuidad was a fitting film to chose, as it has all the key elements of his canon.

Separated from his son after a stretch in gaol, upon his release Trujillo's typical rough-diamond character is taken under the wing of a cop who pulls a few strings and gets his protégé a place by his side as his partner on the beat. Gradually he proves his worth and courage upholding the law, and wins the trust of his immediate boss. But all the while he's eaten up inside by the knowledge that somewhere out there in the big city his son is living rough, and he is driven by the need to find him. His son, meanwhile, has dropped through the cracks of society into a shadowy gang of child-robbers, who squat in slums and survive by selling their spoils to a Fagin-type fence. With no protection, the kids are forced to look after themselves, and a spiral of violence swirls through the film as it winds up to its inevitably tragic conclusion.

A harsh, gritty look at the realities of urban life, albeit at times melodramatic, but without a trace of sentimentality that is a welcome counterpoint to Hollywood fluff. While the performances are never bravura, the script never sparkles, the set-pieces can be a bit leaden, and the characterisations a touch clichéd, it's a film with it's heart in the right place and which knows its purpose - to tell the story of a corrupt society consuming itself from within in a maelstrom of hatred, retribution, and with little hope of redemption.

Closer to the truth than many want to believe.

We are the rats and we run this town,We are the black plague bearing down,We have no fear,We have no pity,We hate you,We hate this city."

[morrison-dylan-fan · 7/10 · 29 October 2019]

A few years ago I got a voucher from a DVD seller that let me to buy one get one free of titles on their site. For a final order,I picked this film randomly,and then proceeded to leave it on the side for years! Wanting to play some of the oldest unwatched flicks in the final days of ICM's Latin America viewing challenge, I picked up the rats.

View on the film:

Tearing dad Pedro and his son Pedrolito apart in the first scene, co-writer/(with Gilberto de Anda)director/ lead actor Valentin Trujillo & cinematographer Antonio de Anda go down to the real late night side streets and bustling roads of Mexico to track the years lost for this family in a gritty, earthy atmosphere of long tracking shots running along with Pedrolito and his fellow street kids gang stealing in dark alleyways, curving to Pedro scrambling on the streets to find his son.

Linking dad and son up with ultra-stylised zoom-in dissolves on their faces,which burn down on explosive action and a eyeful of skin, Trujillo attempts to roll in a odd comedic Melodrama side during Pedro's early days of freedom, that utterly stands out in being at odds with the tone.

Desperate to find his son, the screenplay by Trujillo and Anda tear the care-free mind of Pedro into toughened state, whose fists strike those who ruined his family. Whilst straying into Grindhouse thrills via the vicious beat downs, killings and car burning of the street gang, Anda and Trujillo (who gives a terrific, passionate turn as Pedro) keenly weigh this up equally, with a thoughtful message on how Pedrolito and other homeless child gang members lose their childhood innocence brutally, in the city of rats.

A story of a father and his fight against corrupt society.

[TheMexFilm · 7/10 · 13 April 2024]

It is one of those movies that is not very good, it has details that do not convince you, but because of the story and some scenes you end up loving it completely. It is a style of film that Valentin Trujillo made on many occasions, with the difference that it touches on a very significant topic for society: gangs and children.

It has quite a few renowned actors (Trujillo, Rodolfo de Anda, Miguel Angle Rodriguez, Humberto Elizondo and Lalo el mimo).

At the acting level it doesn't promise as much, since action genre films are not completely classified as the best in their style, but this one is particularly acceptable, in fact I think that Valentin Trujillo's performances were very good at that time.

The story shows two very important villains in those years and that on many occasions we came to hate with all our hearts: Humberto Elizondo and Roberto Flaco Guzman, two actors who in particular were one of the best villains of those years.

The most shocking scene for me was that of Lin May, it is a scene that the first time I saw it scared me a little, because it is quite strong, in short, those scenes of the children assaulting people were quite interesting, because they had not been seen in the history of national cinema.

With a lot of history, an important message, some regular performances, weapons and a lot of drama, it is a film that should definitely be on your priority list if you like to understand the national cinema of the eighties and especially if you want to know part of the history of The slums of Mexico in the 80s.

A really gritty and effective Mexican juvenile delinquent flick

[Woodyanders · 8/10 · 6 August 2009]

The tough and resourceful Pedro (well played by director Valentin Trujillo) gets separated from his son after the boy gets hit by a car driven by a corrupt detective. Refusing to play ball with the cops, Pedro winds up spending five years in jail. Meanwhile, Pedro's son runs away from the hospital and joins a vicious street gang made up of scruffy and dangerous orphan kids. Pedro gets paroled from prison and becomes a police officer so he can find his missing son before it's too late. Director Trujillo delivers a harsh and hard-hitting movie which offers a vivid and convincing depiction of its seedy urban setting, unfolds at a constant quick pace, and relates an absorbing story that's punctuated by startling outbursts of raw and ugly violence. The film's strongest, most chilling and powerful moments show the kids fearlessly attacking and murdering adults in huge numbers. Moreover, we also get rough'n'tumble fisticuffs, an exciting protracted shoot-out between the police and a bunch of terrorists, and even a dab of gratuitous female nudity. But what truly makes this picture work is its admirable refusal to explain the youth gang problem; instead the movie merely shows that this problem exists. The grimy locations, plain cinematography, and shivery score all further enhance the overall gritty atmosphere. Only a rather unnecessary romantic subplot involving Pedro and a fetching lady social worker detracts a bit from the otherwise gripping central narrative. The tragic ending is genuinely heartbreaking. A sound and worthy presentation of a major social issue.

Great film but be wary of the Video Asia DVD!

[udar55 · 8/10 · 1 July 2011]

Single father Pedro (Valentín Trujillo) moves to the big city with his son Pedroico looking for work. His luck turns bad nearly immediately as a drunk cop slams crashes his car into a newsstand and injures Pedro's boy. While the kid is in the hospital, Pedro is at the police station where the cop files a false report saying the kid ran out in front of his car. Pedro refuses to sign the report and socks the cop in the face, sending him headfirst into a glass water cooler. Damn. He gets 6 months for the assault, during which time Pedroico runs away from the hospital and becomes a street kid. After assaulting his crooked lawyer, Pedro is given a 5 year stretch and befriends incarcerated cop Carlos (Rodolfo de Anda) after saving him during a failed weight room shanking. 5 years later, Pedro is released and Carlos gets him a job on the force. Apparently things are different in Mexico as cops who did time just get their jobs back and they can recruit ex-cons too. Of course, you can tell where this is going as Pedroico is now a streetwise kid resorting to a life of crime. And guess who is on Pedro's team? The cop who ran over his son. Mucho dramatico!

This was Trujillo's second directorial effort and is good stuff. It is obviously heavy on the melodrama, but I give him points for not going for the happy ending that Hollywood has trained us to expect. There are some good action scenes, including a completely superfluous assault on terrorists in a mansion. Notorious Video Asia released this in an English dubbed version in their Thug City Chronicles DVD set. A word of warning as it is taken from a VHS master that has a tracking problem about 20 minutes in. The bad news? From that point on, the audio is screwed up for the rest of the movie. Truly one of the worst DVDs I've ever had to sit through.