1 reviews
Sales Rank: 21129

Format: Color, Dvd-video, Ntsc, Subtitled
Languages: Spanish (Original Language), English (Subtitled)
Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 120
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6

MPN: DV95164
UPC: 736899113124
EAN: 0736899113124
ASIN: B000VJ3E44

Theatrical Release Date: 1991
Release Date: November 27, 2007
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Five Star Seller!!! New, factory sealed US Region 1 DVD. Item is 100% guaranteed not to be a bootleg or import. Item is shipped directly from our warehouse. Easy exchange if item defective or damaged in shipped.

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Editorial Reviews:

Product Description
This sensual exuberant work by the gifted Mexican director Maria Novaro tells the story of Julia (Maria Rojo) a 40-year-old telephone operator and single mother whose emotional life consists only of the danzon a weekly ballroom dance. When her dancing partner disappears Julia undertakes a grueling odyssey to locate him. More importantly this search sets her on an extraordinary inner voyage. "One of the most enchanting surprises of the season" (Andrew Sarris). With Carmen Salinas Blanca Guerra and Tito Vasconcelos. In Spanish with English subtitles.System Requirements:Running Time: 120 mins.Format: DVD MOVIE Genre: FOREIGN/MEXICAN UPC: 736899113124 Manufacturer No: DV95164

Customer Reviews:

4 out of 5 stars

a remarkably evocative and sublime Mexican tale! January 13, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful

I bought this DVD as soon as I saw it came available and was not disappointed. On the surface, the story consists of a single middle-aged mother (Maria Rojo) who works as a Mexico City phone operator and enjoys spending her weekends bailando Danzon (a Caribbean sort of ballroom dancing with Franco-Haitian roots from Cuba). One day her dance partner leaves town, throwing her life out of rhythm (some might say into a menopausal crisis), from which she heads off to Veracruz to look for him. That's basically the whole story, but it's what lies beneath which really makes the film special.

Director Maria Novarro was one of the bright stars of Mexico's cinematic revival of the 1990s, which would give rise to the explosion of Novo Cine Mexicana at the end of that decade. Danzon is full of evocative references to great films from Mexico's history, in particular the preclassic The Woman of the Port aka La Mujer del Puerto, and Emilio Fernandez's towering Epoca Dorada classic Salon Mexico [NTSC/REGION 1 & 4 DVD. Import-Latin America] (as well as Victimas del Pecado). Little things like the Russian sailor remind one of the days when Eisenstein, Boytler, and Trotsky spent some of their happiest days in swing era Mexico. But Novarro also evokes the subtly underlying emotion and deep humanism (itself inspired by the films of French poetic realism from the 1930s), which was at the heart of Fernandez's films. Her love for Mexico oozes out though many scenes, despite the very realistic and frequently unattractive picture that it is. That to me is the essence of real Mexican patriotism, and the best antidote to the surprisingly prevalent malinchista strain that persists today in the Mexican psyche.

Maria Rojo is the veritable Mexican everywoman, able to successfully bridge the deep gap between Mexico's two traditional classes and appeal to them both. She is the symbolic personification of the middle class which should be, but never quite is. In real life she has been successful as a free agent, all the more rare in a protected, cronyistic-capitalist system dominated by the low performing "cien familias". We travel with her to Vercaruz, immersing ourselves in real Jarocho culture along the way. To an outsider, Veracruz looks very Indian and Mexican. But to sheltered Mexicans from the altiplano, many who have never seen the ocean or even been to sea level, Veracruz strikes them as more Spanish, caribeno, and open to the outside world. It has a notable Arab community (which gave us Salma Hayek), Gypsies, and some of the very few black Mexicans. Fresh fish, good music, and good coffee add to the list of sights and sensations on display.

The DVD has an annoying unavoidable intro sequence, but other than that it is surprisingly complete. Listed here as full screen, I was happy to see it is certainly letterboxed, albeit in the "family friendly" compromise cut. The image hasn't been cleaned up to perfection but I was happy with it nevertheless. There are optional subtitles in English, French, and Spanish, a good director commentary (Spanish only no subtitles), and a pleasant 35-minute "making of" documentary (in Spanish with optional English subtitles only), which complements the film very well.