''Midaq Alley'' ( es, El callejón de los milagros, also released as ''The Alley of Miracles'') is a 1995 Mexican film adapted from
the novel
''The Novel'' (1991) is a novel written by American author James A. Michener. A departure from Michener's better known historical fiction, ''The Novel'' is told from the viewpoints of four different characters involved in the life and work of ...
by Egyptian writer
Naguib Mahfouz, written by
Vicente Leñero and directed by
Jorge Fons. The film deals with complex issues such as gay and lesbian related topics, the lower-middle class of
Mexico City, and the lives of many people.
The story is told from three perspectives: Don Ru (
Ernesto Gómez Cruz), the owner of a cantina where most of the men in the story gather to drink and play dominoes, Alma (
Salma Hayek), the beautiful girl of the neighborhood who dreams of passion, and Susanita (Margarita Sanz who won an
Ariel Award for this role), the owner of the apartment complex where Alma and many of the other characters live.
The film was critically acclaimed by international critics. It earned 11
Ariel Awards, including
Best Picture at the
37th Ariel Awards and more than 49 international awards and nominations. ''
Pan's Labyrinth'' and ''El Callejón de los Milagros'' were named as the best
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
films by
IMDb and ''
Entertainment Weekly''. The film was selected as the Mexican entry for the
Best Foreign Language Film at the
68th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee.
Plot
The lives of the inhabitants of El Callejón de los Milagros, in downtown Mexico City, are as closely knitted as the threads of a rug. Fifty-something Don Ru owns a small "cantina" where all the men spend afternoons playing domino. He's tired of his longtime marriage with Eusebia and has recently discovered new feelings inside his heart. It does not matter if these feelings are not aimed to a young lady but to a young clerk after all, as one of the characters says, "it's platonic love". Don Ru's son Chava does not like what he sees and almost kills his father's lover. Running away from Don Ru's anger, Chava escapes to the US with his friend Abel who is deeply in love with beautiful Alma, the daughter of Doña Cata, a tarot reader with bad luck in love. Susanita, the ugly landlady looking for love; Guicho, Don Ru's cynical employee, Maru, Don Fidel, Doña Flor, Zacarias and mean Jose Luis complete the cast of characters of this complex portrait of lives.
Structure
The film is divided into four successive and clearly labeled chapters. The first three are named after key individuals, and the fourth wraps up the story. Each chapter starts at the same time, with the same game of dominoes, and describes the same time period, but from the viewpoints of the named people; the chapters tell each person's story. Each chapter thus provides the viewer with details which help to explain things which happened in the other chapters.
#Rutilio deals with Don Ru's dissatisfaction with his marriage and his poorly hidden homosexual love affair with a young man.
#Alma deals with Alma's life and her falling in love with Abel. He leaves with Chava for the U.S. and Alma "disappears". She has been seduced and ends up in a whorehouse.
#Susanita is the landlady with horrible teeth whose feelings and romantic hopes are awakened. She marries Guicho.
#The Return describes the return of Abel and Chava, and Abel's search for Alma. Chava is married and has his wife and baby boy with him. Abel finds Alma in the whorehouse and is heartbroken. He tries to attack her pimp and is stabbed several times. He dies in her arms.
`Midaq Alley' Explores Humanity
August 19, 1998, Deborah Hornblow, ''Hartford Courant''
Cast
* Ernesto Gómez Cruz as Rutilio (Don Ru)
* María Rojo as Doña Cata
* Salma Hayek as Alma
* Bruno Bichir as Abel
* Delia Casanova as Eusebia
* Margarita Sanz as Susanita
* Claudio Obregón as Don Fidel
* Juan Manuel Bernal as Chava
* Abel Woolrich
Abel Woolrich ( ; 1947–2006) was a Mexican character actor. Son of the painter Fanny Rabel, brother of the Mexican actress and nephew of .
Acting career
His career spanned over thirty years of Mexican cinema, including films such as '' Mujere ...
as Zacarías
* Luis Felipe Tovar as Güicho
* Daniel Giménez Cacho as José Luis
* Gina Morett as Doña Flor
* Óscar Yoldi as Ubaldo ''El Poeta'' ("The poet")
* Esteban Soberanes as Jimy
* Eugenia Leñero as Tina
* Tiaré Scanda as Maru
Awards and nominations
Ariel Awards
Won:
* ''Best Film''
* ''Best Direction'' for Jorge Fons
* ''Best Actress'' for Margarita Sanz
* ''Best Supporting Actor'' for Luis Felipe Tovar
* ''Best Costume Design'' for Jaime Ortiz
* ''Best Editing'' for Carlos Savage hijo
* ''Best Make-Up'' for Elvia Romero
* ''Best Original Music Theme or Song'' for Lucía Álvarez
* ''Best Original Score'' for Lucía Álvarez
* ''Best Production Design'' for Carlos Gutiérrez
* ''Best Screenplay'' for Vicente Leñero
Nominations:
* ''Best Actor'' for Ernesto Gómez Cruz
* ''Best Actor in a Minor Role'' for Óscar Yoldi
* ''Best Actress'' for Salma Hayek
* ''Best Actress in a Minor Role'' for Delia Casanova
* ''Best Actress in a Minor Role'' for María Rojo
* ''Best Cinematography'' for Carlos Marcovich
* ''Best Set Design '' for Carlos Gutiérrez
* ''Best Sound'' for David Baksht
* ''Best Supporting Actor'' for Daniel Giménez Cacho
* ''Best Supporting Actor'' for Esteban Soberanes
* ''Best Supporting Actress '' for Tiaré Scanda
Berlin International Film Festival
Wins:
* ''Special Mention'' for the exceptional narrative quality
Chicago International Film Festival
Wins:
* ''Audience Choice Award"
Goya Award
Wins:
* ''Best Spanish Language Foreign Film''
Gramado Film Festival
Wins:
* ''Best Director'' for Jorge Fons
* ''Best Supporting Actress'' for Margarita Sanz
Nominations:
* ''Best Latin Film''
Guadalajara Film Festival
The Guadalajara International Film Festival ( es, Festival Internacional de Cine en Guadalajara) is a week-long film festival held each March in the Mexican city of Guadalajara, Jalisco, Guadalajara since 1986.
The presence in Guadalajara of dele ...
Wins:
* ''Audience Award''
Havana Film Festival
Wins:
* ''Best Director'' for Jorge Fons
* ''Best Screenplay'' for Vicente Leñero
* ''Grand Coral'' (First prize) for Jorge Fons
Mexican Cinema Journalists
Wins:
* ''Best Film''
Paraguay Film Festival
Wins:
* ''Best Actress'' for Margarita Sanz
* ''Best Actor'' for Bruno Bichir
Toulouse Latin America Film Festival
Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...
Wins:
* ''Special Mention'' for the distribution of the film
Valladolid International Film Festival
Wins:
* ''Best Actor'' for Bruno Bichir
* ''Silver Spike'' for Jorge Fons
Nominations:
* ''Golden Spike'' for Jorge Fons
See also
* List of submissions to the 68th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film
* List of Mexican submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film
References
External links
*
*
*
''El Callejón de los Milagros''
at Yahoo! Movies
{{DEFAULTSORT:Midaq Alley
1995 films
Best Picture Ariel Award winners
1990s erotic drama films
Films directed by Jorge Fons
Films based on Egyptian novels
Mexican LGBT-related films
1990s Spanish-language films
Films set in Mexico
Mexican erotic drama films
Films set in Mexico City
1995 drama films
LGBT-related drama films
1990s Mexican films