Companeros

"My dad used to clean toilets in Spain. He came here with high hopes. He wanted pay-toilets in Mexico." A satirical spaghetti western from the much-popular wave of revolutionary conscious movies from the era of the Mexican Revolution. But after a more than solid start, it loses its breath for a long time; and it even looses its refreshing self-depreciating perspective. It's not until the stylish final third (the village versus Nero with a machine gun defending Mexico's Gandi²) that it catches its second breath, and then it's too late. The empty filler passages are only saved by Ennio, who is also a bit sloppy this time around but cleverly helped himself with the catchy leftist title song, which is (over)used wherever possible. (01/25/2013)