Herod's Law
Damian Alcazar, Leticia Huijara, Pedro Armendariz, Jr
Greenbelt 1, Cinema 1
Since it was a Friday night and we managed to finish our dinner at Banana Leaf just in time, we said ok what the heck, let's watch it. We were not disappointed at all. It was a political satire about government (Mexico), corruption and idealism. The story is set in the 40s in Mexico where a janitor is sent by his political party to assume the mayorship of a rural town. A very backward place inhabited by Indians who don't speak Spanish, a corrupt priest, a brothel, a righteous doctor all bunched up together with farm animals. It was quite hilarious as we are privy to the inner conflict of the newly appointed idealistic mayor to make his town a better place without succumbing to corruption and the greed of power. But eventually in his effort to please the higher authorities of his political party, he does falter and gives in to the system. Watching the movie, I cannot help but be reminded of our current political turmoil. How most politicians begin their term of office with lofty ideas and are very idealistic that they can change the system, yet most of them if not all end up being sucked into a never ending cycle of greed, corruption and power grabbing tactics. Unfortunately, the town and its citizens end up suffering. The movie was a bit grainy in texture but it managed to convey its message across - which just might be that no matter how hard we try to beat the system, eventually we all succumb to it. How tragic!
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