Rent El Mariachi on Amazon Video (paid link)
Written by: Robert Rodriguez (written by), Carlos Gallardo (writer)
Directed by: Robert Rodriguez
Starring: Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Peter Marquardt
Rated: R
Watch the trailer
Plot
A traveling musician is mistaken for a murderous criminal and must hide from a gang bent on killing him.
Verdict
It's a simple action movie, but what sets this apart is that it's an amateur film. In that sense, it's incredibly impressive. This was made on practically no budget. I can't believe what it achieves. It's an action movie involving mistaken identity with a musician that enters the wrong town. This movie is bleak, and the conclusion sets up a tale of future revenge.
It depends.
Review
This was Robert Rodriguez's debut movie. He did almost everything but act, filming for only fourteen days on a $7,500 budget. It's the lowest budget movie to ever gross $1 million at the box office. Rodriguez hoped for only a video release, but Columbia bought the distribution rights and spent money on post production work and marketing, a lot more than the original budget.
It's gritty with a low budget look. I didn't realize the budget was so low until I looked into it. A criminal, Azul, just out of prison and a musician arriving in town, "El Mariachi" unfortunately look a bit too much alike and both carry a guitar case. Azul's case contains guns while the other case has a guitar. Azul's boss Moco betrayed him and wants to stop Azul before he gets his revenge. El Mariachi is just looking for work, going from bar to bar.
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| Carlos Gallardo plays El Mariachi |
Moco's goons see El Mariachi carrying a guitar case and assume he's Azul, while Azul is mistaken for another musician when he enters a bar. El Mariachi is new in town and just happens to fit he description. The problem is that his guitar case contains a guitar. Moco's guys shoot first and ask questions later.
El Mariachi finds shelter and romance, playing music in return for room and board. In the course of the day they switch cases to which El Mariachi uses to his advantage to fend off the goons. Azul and El Mariachi's paths continue to intertwine which leads to El Mariachi confronting Moco to save his girlfriend to disastrous results.
This movie boasts a solid story, but it's the lack of budget that makes it so impressive. How do you get a movie that looks this good for so little money?
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