Güeros (2014)

Tomas is too much for his lone mother so she sends him to live with his older brother Federico, aka Sombra, in Mexico City.

Director:

Alonso Ruizpalacios

Writers:

Alonso Ruizpalacios (screenplay), Gibrán Portela (screenplay)

Stars:

Tenoch Huerta, Sebastián Aguirre, Ilse Salas

21 wins & 12 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tenoch Huerta	...	Sombra
Sebastián Aguirre	...	Tomás
Ilse Salas	...	Ana
Leonardo Ortizgris	...	Santos
Raúl Briones	...	Furia
Laura Almela	...	Isabel
Adrian Ladron	...	Moco
Alicia Laguna	...	Esperanza
Camila Lora	...	Aurora
Sophie Alexander-Katz	...	Mamá Joven
Alfonso Charpener	...	Epigmenio
Alonso Ruizpalacios	...	Doctor Ibarra
Bernardo Velasco	...	Inciso B
Yojath Okamoto	...	Pichón (as Yojarth Okamoto Brambila)
Adolfo López Cruz	...	Pedro (as Adolfo Cruz)

Storyline

Tomas is too much for his lone mother so she sends him to live with his older brother Federico, aka Sombra, in Mexico City.

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Plot Keywords:

lost musician | student strike | quest | social unrest | brother brother relationship | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Release Date:

20 March 2015 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

Gueros

Filming Locations:

México City, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Postal Producciones,Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía (IMCINE),Conaculta

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Director Alonso Ruizpalacios admitted that when he handed the script to Tenoch Huerta he said "this is crap and you are making fun of the people in the strike". But a few days later Tenoch called him to ask how much they were paying and he accepted to play his part in the movie just for the money.

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Soundtracks

Tus Pupilas
Performed by Agustín Lara
Composed by Agustín Lara
Published by Promotora Hispano Americana de Música, S.A. de C.V. (PHAM)
Courtesy of Sony Music Entertainment México, S.A. de C.V.

User Reviews

Simple, but effective

The story here is as clever as it is simple. Two brothers and a friend hit the road in search of a dying Mexican folk singer who, according to legend, once made Bob Dylan cry with one of his touching ballads. While there are numerous side stories and plenty of character development, the plot doesn't get a whole lot deeper than that, and it is all the better for it. In that sense, the filmmakers knew exactly what they were doing and they achieved it wonderfully.

The film has a few flaws, but overall I thought it was pretty good. It could have been shorter, but the pacing is great. I felt like a few of the scenes were added just to ensure a sufficient running time and they could have been cut. One thing I loved about the film was that we never actually hear the music of the fictional Mexican folk singer that the brothers are following. Their car's cassette player is broken so they only ever listen to him via headphones. We are left to watch their silent reactions and fill in the missing pieces for ourselves. I'm not sure if the filmmakers had intended to possibly insert music during post production and then decided against it, but either way it is very effective and well done.

Without giving anything away, the ending of the film is right in line with the rest of the film's pacing. It is slow and anticlimactic, but we still end up feeling like everything turned out just the way it should, much like the characters are left feeling. And it is totally hilarious, but in such a dry way that you just might miss it.

Despite being a road film in essence, with characters traveling around and getting into adventures, Güeros isn't about story or characters so much as it is about a feeling. It's a feeling that most of us likely experience at some point in our lives, and for that reason most people will be able to relate to this film on some level.