Midaq Alley (film)

Midaq Alley (film)
Midaq Alley (also released as The Alley of Miracles) is a 1995 Mexican film adapted from the novel 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 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.
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 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
Nominations:
Golden Bear for Jorge Fons
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
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
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
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
Films based on works by Naguib Mahfouz