HELL WITHOUT LIMITS (El lugar sin límites) (1978) - ♦♦♦♦♦

Directed by - Arturo Ripstein

Written by - José Donoso, José Emilio Pacheco, Manuel Puig, Arturo Ripstein

Starring - Lucha Villa, Ana Martin, Gonzalo Vega, Julian Pastor, Carmen Salinas, Fernando Soler, Roberto Cobo

"A soap operatic film in which traditionalist elements combine with more modern ones, some of which downright ahead of their time. 

HELL WITHOUT LIMITS takes place in an empoverished Mexican town. An elderly rich man, Don Alejo, aims to buy it all in order to sell it back for a profit. The only building left for him to own is a whorehouse owned by a man and his daughter. The former wants to leave, the latter wants to stay. The man also happens to be a gay and ageing cross-dressers, who entertains the town with her flamenco dancing that is legitimately praise. His mind is even more made up by the return of Pancho, a hothead who scared them the year before. 

ARTURO RIPSTEIN's film is defined by a careful handling of the meticulous storyline. But also by a sometimes deceitful handling of the colourful nature of the characters, that leads to a riveting tongue in cheek language with which the narrative progresses, while surprising with the grit and suddenness of the underlying seriousness. This seriousness is a result of the wealth of themes that inspire its story, from family values and machismo to homophobia - HELL WITHOUT LIMITS is in fact regarded as one of the very first Mexican films to openly deal with homosexuality, and even more noteworthy is the way in which it does so in a respectfully organic and non-exploitative way."

Drama, Mexico