Drama/Mex

Decadent, has-been tourist paradise Acapulco, now a second-rate destination for the "all-inclusive" vacationer, provides the ideal atmosphere for Gerardo Naranjo's engrossing second feature, Drama/Mex. As the title implies, dramatic impetus à la Mexicana is the underlying force of the film, albeit with a very contemporary slant. Several stories are deftly interwoven, each one transferred to the next by returning to an earlier moment in time, then jumping forward again, building momentum and tension throughout the film. Fernanda (Diana García) can't seem to stop herself from falling for the charms of her ex-boyfriend, the thieving Chano (Emilio Valdés), who shows up out of the blue, disrupting her relationship with Gonzalo (Juan Pablo Castañeda). Acapulco is a small, stifling town where everyone knows everyone else's business, and Gonzalo is soon alerted that Fernanda was seen kissing her ex at a local restaurant. In an effort to win her back, he hires some mariachis and serenades her outside her house. But she's inside with Chano and doesn't come out. Meanwhile, middle-aged Jaime (Fernando Becerril) is preparing to end his life. He is tired and disillusioned and, after stealing the company payroll, has rented a place on the beach for privacy. He meets impetuous fifteen-year-old Tigrillo (Miriana Moro), who's just run away from home and is looking for a mark to swindle. The relationship they develop is one of the film's highlights; a real connection is made and their rapport is hilarious.