El callejón de los milagros

El Callejón de los Milagros
El Callejón de los Milagros theatrical poster
Directed by	Jorge Fons
Produced by	Gerardo Barrera Alfredo Ripstein hijo
Written by	Vicente Leñero(screenplay) - Naguib Mahfouz (novel)
Starring	Ernesto Gómez Cruz Salma Hayek Bruno Bichir Delia Casanova Margarita Sanz Claudio Obregón
Music by	Lucía Álvarez
Cinematography	Carlos Marcovich
Editing by	Carlos Savage hijo
Distributed by	VIDEOVISA (Mexico) (Spain) IFC Films(USA) (Australia)
Release date(s)	May 5, 1995 (Mexico) November 17, 1995 (Spain) October 26, 1995 (Netherlands) March 6, 1998 (USA)
Running time	140 min.
Country	Mexico
Language	Spanish

El callejón de los milagros (English: The Alley of Miracles) is an award-winning 1994 Mexican film adapted from the novel by Egyptian writer Naguib Mahfouz, written by Vicente Leñero and directed by Jorge Fons. The film deals with complex issues such as gay and lesbian related topics, the lower-middle class of Mexico City, and the lives of many people.

The story is told from three perspectives: Don Ru (Ernesto Gómez Cruz), the owner of a cantina where most of the men in the story gather to drink and play dominoes, Alma (Salma Hayek), the beautiful girl of the neighborhood who dreams of passion, and Susanita (Margarita Sanz who won an Ariel Award for this role), the owner of the apartment complex where Alma and many of the other characters live.

The film was critically acclaimed by international critics. It earned 11 Ariel Awards, including Best Picture and more than 49 international awards and nominations. Pan's Labyrinth and El Callejón de los Milagros were named as the best Mexican films by IMDB.com and Entertainment Weekly.

Plot

The lives of the inhabitants of El Callejón de los Milagros, in downtown Mexico City, are as closely knitted as the threads of a rug. Fifty-something Don Ru owns a small "cantina" where all the men spend afternoons playing domino. He's tired of his longtime marriage with Eusebia and has recently discovered new feelings inside his heart. It does not matter if these feelings are not aimed to a young lady but to a young clerk after all, as one of the characters says, "it's platonic love". Don Ru's son Chava does not like what he sees and almost kills his father's lover. Running away from Don Ru's anger, Chava escapes to the USA with his friend Abel who is deeply in love with beautiful Alma, the daughter of Doña Cata, a tarot reader with bad luck in love. Susanita, the ugly landlady looking for love; Guicho, Don Ru's cynical employee, Maru, Don Fidel, Doña Flor, Zacarias and mean Jose Luis complete the cast of characters of this complex portrait of lives.

Cast

• Ernesto Gómez Cruz as Rutilio (Don Ru)
• María Rojo as Doña Cata
• Salma Hayek as Alma
• Bruno Bichir as Abel
• Delia Casanova as Eusebia
• Margarita Sanz as Susanita
• Claudio Obregón as Don Fidel
• Juan Manuel Bernal as Chava
• Abel Woolrich as Zacarías
• Luis Felipe Tovar as Güicho
• Daniel Giménez Cacho as José Luis
• Gina Morett as Doña Flor
• Óscar Yoldi as Ubaldo El Poeta ("The poet")
• Esteban Soberanes as Jimy
• Eugenia Leñero as Tina
• Tiaré Scanda as Maru

Awards and nominations

Ariel Awards

Won:

• Best Film
• Best Direction for Jorge Fons
• Best Actress for Margarita Sanz
• Best Supporting Actor for Luis Felipe Tovar
• Best Costume Design for Jaime Ortiz
• Best Editing for Carlos Savage hijo
• Best Make-Up for Elvia Romero
• Best Original Music Theme or Song for Lucía Álvarez
• Best Original Score for Lucía Álvarez
• Best Production Design for Carlos Gutiérrez
• Best Screenplay for Vicente Leñero

Nominations:

• Best Actor for Ernesto Gómez Cruz
• Best Actor in a Minor Role for Óscar Yoldi
• Best Actress for Salma Hayek
• Best Actress in a Minor Role for Delia Casanova
• Best Actress in a Minor Role for María Rojo
• Best Cinematography for Carlos Marcovich
• Best Set Design for Carlos Gutiérrez
• Best Sound for David Baksht
• Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Giménez Cacho
• Best Supporting Actor for Esteban Soberanes
• Best Supporting Actress for Tiaré Scanda

Berlin International Film Festival

Wins:

• Special Mention for the exceptional narrative quality

Nominations:

• Golden Berlin Bear for Jorge Fons

Chicago International Film Festival

Wins:

• Audience Choice Award"

Goya Award

Wins:

• Best Spanish Language Foreign Film

Gramado Film Festival

Wins:

• Best Director for Jorge Fons
• Best Supporting Actress for Margarita Sanz

Nominations:

• Best Latin Film

Guadalajara Film Festival

Wins:

• Audience Award

Havana Film Festival

Wins:

• Best Director for Jorge Fons
• Best Screenplay for Vicente Leñero
• Grand Coral (First prize) for Jorge Fons

Mexican Cinema Journalists

Wins:

• Best Film

Paraguay Film Festival

Wins:

• Best Actress
• Best Actor for Bruno Bichir
• Silver Spike for Jorge Fons

Toulouse Latin America Film Festival

Wins:

• Special Mention for the distribution of the film

Valladolid International Film Festival

Wins:

• Best Actor for Bruno Bichir
• Silver Spike for Jorge Fons

Nominations:

• Golden Spike for Jorge Fons

External links

• El Callejón de los Milagros at the Internet Movie Database
• El Callejón de los Milagros at AllRovi
• El Callejón de los Milagros at Rotten Tomatoes
• El Callejón de los Milagros at Yahoo! Movies