Matando Cabos (2004)

A dark, offbeat comedy about a group of Mexico City teens embroiled in a kidnapping involving a retired wrestling legend and a parrot.

Director:

Alejandro Lozano

Writers:

Tony Dalton, Kristoff,

Stars:

Tony Dalton, Ana Claudia Talancón, Pedro Armendáriz Jr.

4 wins & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tony Dalton	...	Javier "Jaque"
Ana Claudia Talancón	...	Paulina Cabos
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	Oscar Cabos
Kristoff	...	Mudo
Raúl Méndez	...	Botcha
Joaquín Cosio	...	Ruben "Mascarita"
Gustavo Sánchez Parra	...	Nico
Rocío Verdejo	...	Lula
Silverio Palacios	...	Tony 'El Canibal'
Jacqueline Voltaire	...	Gabriela Cabos
Pedro Altamirano	...	Nacho
Norman Sotolongo	...	Cholo
José Ángel Bichir	...	Ulises
Alejandro Galán	...	Juan
Mary Paz Mata	...	Tere

Storyline

In Mexico City, the powerful and violent magnate of steel Oscar Cabos catches his daughter Paulina having sex with her boyfriend and his employee Javier "Jaque" and he works Jaque over. On the next day, Jaque pays a visit to Cabos in his office and the angry man comes with a golf club to hit Jaque again. However, Cabos accidentally trips on a golf ball, falls on the floor and faints. Jaque calls his best friend Mudo to help him, but the janitor Nacho finds his boss fainted on the floor and he steals and dresses himself with Cabos' clothes and jewels. Meanwhile, Nacho's son Botcha and his friend Nico have planned to kidnap Cabos and they are waiting for him in the parking garage. When he walks in the parking garage, the two kidnappers hit him on the back of the head, believing that he is Cabos, they cover his head with a bag. They head with the abducted man to the house of Botcha's girlfriend Lula. Meanwhile, Jaque and Mudo calls their wrestler friend Ruben "Mascarita" and his midget ...

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Taglines:

The kidnapping was the least of their problems . . .

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Genres:

Action | Adventure | Comedy | Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for pervasive violence and language, some strong sexuality and drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Lemon Films

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

16 July 2004 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Killing Cabos

Filming Locations:

Colonia Polanco, Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Box Office

Budget:

MXN 25,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$75,719 (USA) (26 August 2005)

Gross:

$126,132 (USA) (2 September 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE), Lemon Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

DTS

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Jaque (Tony Dalton) mentions to Mudo (Kristoff) "Being on TV was never my thing". Both Tony Dalton and Kristoff once starred on "No te equivoques", a Jackass-like TV show.

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Crazy Credits

Emilio: Gracias por prestarnos tu jardín. (Emilio: thanks for lending us your garden.)

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Connections

References Taxi Driver (1976)

User Reviews

A great improvement of Mexican Cinema

"Matando Cabos" is the title of Alejandro Lozano's debut film, that even when it shares some similitude with American Films, such as "Pulp Fiction" and "Taxi Driver", it stands as a great movie, bringing a refreshing breathe to Mexican commercial cinema.

The major attractive of the film lies in its screenplay. The story is about two best friends, Jaque and Mudo, that are involved on a critical situation when they accidentally kidnap their boss, the sadistic and rich Oscar Cabos, and they hide him on Jaque's car. Meanwhile, a kidnapper's band, directed by the son of Cabos' ex-best friend, plan to take him to ask for money. But they take the wrong person and that's how a series of funny events, plagued with a black humor-screenplay, are shown by a bunch of hilarity characters that add a special charm in the movie.

Of course, this film is far from been compared to "Amores Perros", "Y tu Mamá También" or "El Crimen del Padre Amaro", which were deeper and focused on complex and even controversial issues. On the other hand, in "Matando Cabos" we have a well written and light story from the beginning to the end.

Finally, it's very remarkable the use of f/x for the car-chase scene filmed in the Estadio Azteca, supervised by people in charge of effects for "Matrix", that is the most expensive scene ever done in Mexican Cinema's history and by the way, the best Mexican action film. That's the reason why the film was released on summer, because it's able to compete against the mega-budgeted productions.

One of the best movies of the Mexican commercial films that vindicates national cinema with its fresh air and leaves the door open for future indie and risky films that are changing the face of Mexican movies. Great film, excellent casting, very funny and catchy. Don't miss it.

9 out of 10