Cumbia callera (2007) Poster

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Genuine and intense portrait of living Mexico
picario118 October 2011
Warning: Spoilers
Very enjoyable and excellent conjunction of genuine music, a story well focused on just the three youngsters, talented actors and a curious and interesting camera. This screenplay does not need almost any dialog, so it really does not matter if you watch the original language version.

Theatrical drama located in the real Mexican life, about passions and everyday's dilemmas (love, relationship, work, money), combined with comedy elements and a kind of dance-musical at its best. I watched it several times and it never gets boring due to tremendous intensity and accuracy, both minimalistic when it wants to be authentic and with many simple comedy elements. Embedded there is at the same time a portrait of the Cumbia music scene in northern Mexico, authentically represented by the musicians themselves.

Director René Villarreal is best known for some well done movies, e.g. The Mexican (Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts). The movie is genuine therefore it has explicit scenes, so i would rate it 15+.
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1/10
I Really didn't like this movie
ofi-699-34185730 March 2010
Script is really poor, and direction approximative. This love story seems to be à fake copy of stories you have seen hundred of times. YEs the girl is nice and pretty, but is it enough to show nice legs and back(...)to complete a movie ? Old director for old style movie, or maybe it will raise his public in low-cost theaters ! What about using Monterrey and Mexican music as final and ONLY thing you can enjoy ? Despite the film's ghoulish plot, you will laugh because the story is also clever and diabolically unfair to the characters who are faced with an army of brain-eating zombie girls or musicians that, sooner or later, will get them. Finally you will be boried for 2 hours !
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10/10
Great movie!
grinrat24 September 2008
Hey just wanted to say how much I enjoyed this movie! It really was fantastic. Amazing performances from the actors, great music and story telling. I had this concept in my head of making a movie with the music telling the story through lyrics for sometime. Thanks for making it for me!

In this film, practically devoid of dialog, it's the lyrics of the Cumbia and Vallenato, that tell this original story. With a very simple plot and a local context it reaches a very interesting universal quality. It combines a critical, sincere and uninhibited vision with the playful spirit of a popular and youth oriented cinema that produces cult objects as seen in movies such as Zoot Suit (Luis Valdez, 1981) - which portrays the "pachuco" subculture through Swing and Jitterbug-, or Breakdance (Joel Silberg, 1984) - with Breakdance music and dance.

Cumbia Callera (aka Cumbia Connection) does the same but now for the "colombiano" subculture of northern Mexico.

Highly recommendable for those looking for something different new and entertaining.
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8/10
Characters in Movie Like a Vermeer Painting
avalonrock21 October 2008
Very fascinating movie where the story of 3 young people is shown without dialog. The story, instead, develops by using facial expressions, body movements (including dance) with background of music. Thus, this movie is unusual plus low-keyed in contrast to the frenetic pace of modern life. The close-up portrayals of the actors when they are supposedly alone and introspective is similar to the famous oil paintings by Vermeer in the 17th century. Feelings expressed are thus subtle without blatant emotions of most movies. A relaxing and absorbing movie --- as a psychiatrist, I give it praise since the 3 young people show emotions but do so delicately. In its way, it's similar to the movie "Girl With A Pearl Earring", a story about Vermeer starring Scarlett Johansson.
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