Danzón.

Reviewed Rafael Ocasio, Agnes Scott Coll., Decatur, GA -- Críticas, 9/15/2008

(Mexico, 1991) color. Spanish (English subtitles). 120 mins. Macondo Cine, dist. by Facets. 2007. DVD. $29.95. DRAMA

Julia Solorzano is a hard-working, middle-aged single mother raising a teenage daughter in the urban jungle of Mexico City. As a telephone operator, she leads a rather colorless life except on Saturday nights, when she goes to a dance hall. There she enjoys dancing to Caribbean rhythms, in particular the Cuban danzón, with her favorite dance partner, Carmelo—a much older gentleman who, like Julia, is there just to dance. One night, to Julia’s surprise, Carmelo does not show up, and she realizes that she knows nothing about his personal life. When Carmelo fails to come week after week, Julia decides to look for him in a quest that takes her to the coastal city of Veracruz. Marginal characters, such as prostitutes and transsexuals, become Julia’s unlikely guides in this iconic city, which echoes the relaxed way of life and sensuality of the Caribbean. At the end, Julia learns to be true to herself in a sexual adventure that will bring back her joie de vivre. Well-known Mexican director María Novaro offers a view of a dynamic female protagonist whose transformation from a meek to a sexually liberated woman has the feminist undertone for which her films are well-known in Mexico and abroad. Highly recommended.