This film is one of the gems of the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. It was shown in Puerto Rican television repeatedly throughout the 80's, and it was one of the films which inspired me to be a filmmaker. The acting, in particular the performance by Pedro Infante, was powerful, and the story is quite engaging. Looking at it now, as an adult, I find it still packs a punch, but in the way Sirk's "Immitation of Life" does. It is an engaging piece of melodrama which periodically succumbs to prejudiced (maybe even condescending) attitudes towards its Black characters. The end, however, becomes a testament to the human spirit. Douglas Sirk would have been proud.
Review of Angelitos negros
