Our Lady of the Assassins (2000)
Review by HTQ4
Film:
DVD:

Written by Fernando Vallejo, based on his novel
Directed by Barbet Schroeder
Starring Germán Jaramillo, Anderson Ballesteros, Juan David Restrepo, Manuel Busquets, and Wilmar Agudelo

Released by: Paramount.
Rating: R
Region: 1
Anamorphic: Yes.

My Advice: Rent it.

Fernando (Jaramillo) has finally returned to his home of Medellin, Colombia. It turns out that it's not quite the town that he remembers. He hooks up with a kid named Alexis (Ballesteros) who has grown up in the hard world that is Medellin today. Fernando and Alexis become romantically involved and seem to have found a wonderful peace with each other, but when Alexis is killed, Fernando becomes entwined in a world of guns. He vows to find and kill the man who killed his lover.

This is a very weak storyline that has been played out again and again throughout motion picture history; it is simply a revenge story. What makes this one different, is that the man seeking vengeance is doing so for the murder of his very young male lover. Schroeder does an amazing job of taking an otherwise trite story idea and bringing it to life in a way so that it stays interests throughout. It is a very hard look into the lives of the people of Colombia and the culture that seems to reek just below the surface of their rich history. If the movie has a weakness, it would be that the characters are not developed to a point that really allows you to care about them or their relationship with each other.

It's a shame that the DVD doesn't have more than the film. Schroeder's a very interesting character when you hear him do a commentary or interview, so this disc could really have done with some more from him. I don't know how good scribe Vallejo's English is, but it would have been nice to hear his take on adapting his novel for the screen. Even if you couldn't get these people together, a featurette talking about the real Medellin interspersed with the thoughts of both cast and crew would have been worthwhile. Adding insult to injury is the fact that the English subtitles are hardcoded, so even if you don't need them, you're stuck with them.

This one is worth renting, but sadly with nothing else to bolster the film itself, it stays as a rental.