La ley de Herodes (1999)

Director:

Luis Estrada

Writers:

Luis Estrada (screenplay)
Luis Estrada (story)

Release Date:

18 February 2000 (Mexico)

Genre:

Comedy | Crime | Mystery

Plot:

Mexico, 1949. The fable of a janitor turned Mayor on a little town lost in the Mexican desert, who gradually realizes how far his new acquainted power and corruption can get him.

Plot Keywords:

Mexico | Corruption | Strong Sexual Content | Strong Language | Female Nudity

Awards:

20 wins & 8 nominations

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Damián Alcázar	...	Juan Vargas
Pedro Armendáriz Jr.	...	López (as Pedro Armendáriz)
Delia Casanova	...	Rosa
Juan Carlos Colombo	...	Ramírez
Alex Cox	...	Gringo
Miguel Ángel Fuentes	...	Pancho
Noemí García	...	Secretaria
Guillermo Gil	...	Cura
Ernesto Gómez Cruz	...	Gobernador
Leticia Huijara	...	Gloria
Luis de Icaza	...	Alcalde Alfredo García
Eugenia Leñero	...	Esposa del nuevo alcalde
Eduardo López Rojas	...	Doctor
Yari Lorenzo	...	Esmeralda
Pedro Lorza	...	Cadáver

Also Known As:

Herod's Law (Europe: English title) (USA)

MPAA:

Rated R for violence, sexuality and language.

Runtime:

120 min

Country:

Mexico

Language:

Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

USA:R | Mexico:C

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company:

Alta Vista Films

Trivia:

The movie release was forbidden for several years. Since filming started, the Mexican government wasn't very happy about it; mainly because it showed a bad image of that administration. Filmmakers fought back. This reached the press so the movie had to be released to avoid rumors about political censorship.

Movie Connections:

References Los olvidados (1950)

Soundtrack:

Que me lleve la tristezza

Historically relevant

To understand "La Ley de Herodes" and its historical significance, it is necessary to consider a study of the backdrop behind its production and release. LDH is a product of the decadence of the crumbling, rotting 70-year old regime of the Institutional Revolutionary Party (PRI). The 90s were frantic years in Mexico. The Zapatista uprising, the murder of the PRI's presidential candidate/next president (apparently by his own party), the "Tequila Effect" recession, several political murders and former president Salinas' exile (as well as his brother's arrest for money laundering)... all these events created a dissatisfaction so huge that forced the government to loosen its freedom of expression. It would have been impossible to release this movie, or to listen to Molotov's angry music without the bitter complacency of the government. And in a way, LDH signals the end of the PRI regime and its ousting from the executive in the year 2000. Mexico is undergoing change. It's slow, and it's painful, but it's happening. The PRI has not fully disappear, though. You can now see the Juan Vargas figure clinging in congress,trying to obstruct change, holding to its last source of power. A wonderful mambo score, by the way.