El suavecito

Roberto is a petty criminal and wannabe pimp with Pachuco allures (generously-cut suits and a Spanish full of often absurd English words and expressions) who is actually far too good-natured for the harder parts of the city, which he realizes at the very latest when he gets into a fight with El Nene… A dark social noir which expressed the zeitgeist so acutely that the official authorities delayed its release by around a year because they found it too dangerous. At the same time, the film is an outstanding portrait of the Mexico City of the underclass, even though it was entirely shot in a studio. A favorite of Guillermo del Toro, who helped finance this restoration. (om)