Reviews

Like many episodes of this series, this one tells an interesting story. It peeks into one of the yearning questions that bothers men as science progresses and somehow seems to escape the stiff control of the human being. The story has haunted people since our early days: The creation that revolts against the creator has one of its classic takes on Frankenstein, so maybe the variations of the theme shouldn't surprise us anymore; nevertheless it still has the force to impress us. But what is startling is that this episode was shot 47 years ago, but it has aged well. The question haunts us today as it has for 200 years. Nowadays we not only talk about robots, but we speak about cloning human beings. So our fears not only haven't diminished, but they have increased geometrically. To add to the interest of this episode is the acting of Inger Stevens as the daughter. Not only is she one of the most beautiful presences of the screen, but she carries quite well the drama of the story. Her acting subtly conveys the predicaments of the confrontation of men against the machine. This combination of great acting skills in such an attractive creature is rarely seen today.

An expressive movie full of force. A journey through the night started as fun by two rich and bored kids. They met face on with the part of the city they've been spared so far. They live there, yet they don't. The kids have long and aristocratic names in their pedigrees; the caifanes barely amount to nicknames: el gato, el azteca, el estilos, and so on. The director, Juan Ibañez makes a movie that strongly reminds us of his theatrical formation. The result is quite interesting. Some scenes are memorable. Take for instance, the one where the whole gang breaks into a funerary and Gato assigns each one a coffin according to the life they've led so far. Of course, pretty Paloma gets one embroiled with silk which matches the soft skin of his hands and the wings of her name as Gato puts it. Once inside they start voicing their feeling about being dead. You hear some beautiful poetry grandly declaimed as if in a theater scenario as well as the street sayings of the have-nots. It ends when a coffin slams shut on one of them and they understand that death has come to play along as they were asking aloud. The finals scenes are remarkable when Estilos the guitar toting guy, is confronted by Jaime, Paloma's boyfriend. He wants to fight the rich kid and he dismisses him by saying: "It's easy for you to fight. You've got nothing to lose, 'cause you've got nothing at all." He thinks he's right because as a member of the upper class, he's been taught that. But in the end, Jaime is the one who loses the one thing he cares most about. Won't tell, but you can imagine.