Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Gael García Bernal | ... | Tato | |
Diego Luna | ... | Beto | |
Guillermo Francella | ... | Batuta | |
Dolores Heredia | ... | Elvira | |
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Adriana Paz | ... | Toña |
Jessica Mas | ... | Maya | |
Salvador Zerboni | ... | Jorge W | |
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Tania Esmeralda Aguilar | ... | Nadia |
Joaquín Cosio | ... | Arnulfo | |
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Alfredo Alfonso | ... | Don Casimiro |
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Fermín Martínez | ... | DT Obdulio |
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Eduardo Von | ... | DT Bruno López |
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Axel Ricco | ... | Mena |
Harold Torres | ... | Trompo Tovar | |
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Gabino Rodríguez | ... | Mafafo |
Mexican half brothers Beto and Tato--who will eventually be appropriately nicknamed Rudo (rough) and Cursi (corny), respectively--have a typical love/hate relationship with each other. They both work on a banana plantation and live with their extended family consisting of their mother, abusive stepfather, sister Nadia, and Beto's wife Toña and their children. The family are rural peasant class and are barely making ends meet. The brothers' fortunes change when into their lives comes Batuta, a soccer scout. Despite their advancing ages, both Beto and Tato are naturally gifted at soccer, Beto as a goaltender and Tato as a striker. Playing professionally has always been Beto's dream, although Tato has other professional thoughts on his mind. Batuta eventually recruits both for different teams in Mexico City. Beto's and Tato's fortunes rise and fall, the falls based on those things which hold more passion for the brothers. For Tato, he loves fast women, specifically television ... Written by Huggo
I saw this at the Edinburgh International Film Festival and I thoroughly enjoyed it. The two main characters are brothers and polar opposites in terms of the roles they have. One being fun, jokey laughable while the other is more gritty, serious and intense. Depending on who was on screen, the story weaved from pleasing comedy to suspenseful drama. The movie is based around the 2 brothers being plucked from banana plantation obscurity into footballing limelight but this is by no means a movie about football. It's more about the the brothers yearning for fame and fortune and their determination to provide better lives for their loved ones. The directors and actors were present at the screening and asked the audience to watch this "not as a foreign movie but simply as a movie." With that in mind, don't go to see this looking for strong statement about Mexico City, go and see it for the story and acting itself.