''Soba'' is a 2004 independent drama/

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

and the directional debut from Mexican filmmaker Alan Coton, who also wrote the script. It stars newcomer

Claudia Soberón Claudia Soberón (; born September 29, 1977) is a Mexican actress and singer. Biography Born and raised in Mexico City, Soberón began singing in child musical groups and in 1988 won a national singing competition televised by Televisa and spon ...

and Dagoberto Gama.

Synopsis

Justina, a fifteen-year-old girl, lives with her mother and stepfather in a suburb of Mexico City. On the verge of sexual awakening, she starts flirting with her stepfather, provoking the murder of both her parents. She runs away from home, temporarily insane, wearing nothing but her nightgown. Ivan, a police detective who practices torture as a daily routine and is now reduced to the rank of street cop, is ordered to look for her all night long. Justine gets picked up on the street by two cops that take her to their headquarters and held her hostage for their own purposes. Ivan finally tracks her down and eventually frees her from her captivity. From that moment, the lives of both Justina and Ivan will change forever.

Cast

as Justina * Dagoberto Gama as Ivan * Antonio Algarra as Captain * Miguel Loaiza as Ramon * Hena Corzo as Marife *

Jorge Zárate Jorge Alejandro Zárate Careaga (born 20 January 1992) is a Mexican professional footballer who plays as a midfielder. Career Youth Zárate was born in San Luis Potosí, and joined Pubelas youth academy in 2008. He continued through Puebla's ...

as Cop I * Silverio Palacios as Ojitos * Antonio Chaulet as Guy on the street *Alberto Acosta as Cachorro * Roberto Álvez as Minezota * Jaime Estrada as Gordo * Silvia Rizo as Miriam * Alicia Sandoval as Martita * Silvia Salinas as Mari * Lida Jiménez as Angelita * Patricia Collazo as Narco's wife *Cirilo Santiago as Esteban * Kengi Guerrero as Chino * Homero Maturano as Narco *Óscar Trejo as Oscar

Production

Based on the true story of three girls raped by a group of cops in Tláhuac, Mexico City, the movie was produced by an independent production team of former film students of

Centro Universitario de Estudios Cinematográficos The National School of Film Arts ( es, Escuela Nacional de Artes Cinematográficas or CUEC) is a public film school part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico in Mexico City. It was influenced by the ''Nouvelle Vague'' and by the First C ...

called Cooperativa 9.5 en la escala de Richer SC de RL. Filmed in B/W

35 mm film 35 mm may refer to: * 135 film, a type of still photography format commonly referred to as 35 mm film * 35 mm movie film 35 mm film is a film gauge used in filmmaking, and the film standard. In motion pictures that record on f ...

over the course of two weeks in February 1999 in several locations of Mexico City, the movie marked the film debut of 22-years-old actress

. It also starred Dagoberto Gama in one of his first lead roles. Being financed without the support of national funds and with a final budget of 1,2m pesos (approximately $100k), the movie eventually completed post-production in late 2003. A new production company, La Chancla Producciones, S.A. de C.V, was formed by the director Alan Coton and newcomer producer Sophie Avernin to support the post-production process and complete the film.

Release

The movie debuted in competition at the Sofia International Film Festival in March 2004. It reportedly almost got into the Cannes Film Festival of the same year and that lead to the invitation at the

Three Continents Festival The Festival des 3 Continents is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, and is devoted to the cinemas of Asia, and Africa and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau.Nantes Nantes (, , ; Gallo: or ; ) is a city in Loire-Atlantique on the Loire, from the Atlantic coast. The city is the sixth largest in France, with a population of 314,138 in Nantes proper and a metropolitan area of nearly 1 million inhabita ...

. After the festival tour, the movie was supported by

Cinemark Theatres Cinemark Holdings, Inc. (stylized as CineMark from 1998 to 2022 and CINEMARK since 2022) is an American movie theater chain that started operations in 1984 and since then it has operated theaters with hundreds of locations throughout the America ...

for its independent commercial release in Mexico. The film opened in 3 screens in Mexico City on 9 September 2005 . It subsequently opened in other selected cities of Mexico, including

Monterrey Monterrey ( , ) is the capital and largest city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León, Mexico, and the third largest city in Mexico behind Guadalajara and Mexico City. Located at the foothills of the Sierra Madre Oriental, the city is anchor ...

, with the same 3 original copies. The Mexican theatrical distribution of the film eventually lasted over 5 months. The movie was released in the US territory straight to DVD on 24 January 2006.

Critical reception

The film received mixed to positive reviews. ''

Cahiers du cinéma ''Cahiers du Cinéma'' (, ) is a French film magazine co-founded in 1951 by André Bazin, Jacques Doniol-Valcroze, and Joseph-Marie Lo Duca.Itzkoff, Dave (9 February 2009''Cahiers Du Cinéma Will Continue to Publish''The New York TimesMacnab, Ge ...

'' called ''Soba'' "an astonishing self-produced film noir, based on an unforeseeable script". According to film critic

Stéphane Delorme Stéphane is a male French given name an equivalent of Stephen/Steven. Notable people with this given name include: *Stéphane Adam (born 1969), French footballer *Stéphane Agbre Dasse (born 1989), Burkinabé football player *Stéphane Allagnon, ...

(comité de sélection, Cannes), it was "the best and most exciting Mexican film of the year" and ''

El Financiero ''El Financiero'' (, "The Financial") is a Mexican national daily newspaper covering business and the financial markets. It is owned by Grupo Multimedia Lauman, S.A.P.I. de C.V. and has offices in the Miguel Hidalgo borough of Mexico City. His ...

'' said it was "a great movie". '' Radio France Internationale'' lauded the film's "disturbing" atmosphere, calling it "a UFO in Mexican cinema" and ''Uno Mas Uno'' labeled it as "a ruthless incursion into the world of perversion and corruption". Stephane Pichelin of ''Leif Magazine'' also appreciated the film saying: "''Soba'' confirms the renewal of Latin American fiction cinema". Claudia Soberón's performance as Justina was appreciated but the job of the other actors was generally panned: according to Rafael Aviña of ''

Reforma REFORMA: The National Association to Promote Library & Information Services to Latinos and the Spanish Speaking, more commonly known as REFORMA, is an affiliate of the American Library Association formed in 1971 to promote library services to Lati ...

'', her portrayal was "outstanding" but the rest of the cast was "unremarkable". He also added that "subtlety isn't really Alan Coton's thing". '' La Jornada'' described Claudia Soberón as "a sensual and disturbing Justina" while Diana González of '' El Norte'' called the rest of the cast "totally uneffective". She went on saying that the "pretentious film merely focused on its own solemn and pompous style".

Festivals

* Sofia International Film Festival 2004 *

Nantes Three Continents Festival The Festival des 3 Continents is an annual film festival held since 1979 in Nantes, France, and is devoted to the cinemas of Asia, and Africa and Latin America. It was founded by Philippe and Alain Jalladeau.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 ...

2004 *Alucine Film Festival 2004 (Mexico) * Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival 2004 * Granada Film Festival 2005 * Santa Cruz International Latino and Indie Film Festival 2005 *Human Rights Film Festival 2005 * Eckerd College International Cinema Series 2006 *Argenmex Film Festival 2006 (Argentina)

References

External links

*{{IMDb title, id=0410631, title=Soba *http://www.lachancla.com/, official web site 2004 films 2004 crime drama films Mexican independent films Mexican crime drama films 2004 independent films 2000s Mexican films 2000s Spanish-language films Spanish-language crime drama films