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The Citrillo's Turns review
:. Director: Felipe Cazals
:. Starring: Damián Alcázar, José María Yazpik
:. Running Time: 1:37
:. Year: 2005
:. Country: Mexico
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I've never liked films about drunks — not that have anything against drunkenness because if there were a degree for it I would probably have a PHD in that field by now. I just find them annoying and the intoxication is usually overplayed, failing to contaminate an all-too-sober audience.
Not only is Las Vueltas del Citrillo one of these films that is in a constant state of inebriation, but it also features a gallery of — morally & physically — disgusting characters. To tell you the truth, I hadn't suffered so much at the movies since I saw the Russian entry 4 at the L.A. Film Festival. While pretty excruciating at times, 4 was a good film that succeeded at pushing the buttons of the spectator. Felipe Cazals' movie is in that same vein, embracing its rough facture as an experiment on whoever will be sitting in front of the screen.
Set in 1903, Las Vueltas del Citrillo centers around two characters, a sergeant and his retarded soldier, two repugnant creatures whom, in the opening scene, we witness assassinating a couple of young men for a few pesos. From there, we follow them to the cantina and after having swallowed liters of pulque, they spend the rest of the movie wandering around completely intoxicated.
There is not one single appealing character here and most of the time onscreen is "wasted" in their presence, with no screenwriting purpose. However, toward the last part, the picture takes an unexpected surrealist turn, which brings a touch of poetry to the vast ugliness. That's the moment when you realize all his debauchery isn't gratuitous; the director takes a step back through one of the characters to offer a commentary on the state of Mexican society at that time — despite the emblematic corruption and crimes, there are also hints of incest and zoofilia (and before you freaks out there start e-mailing me, no it doesn't involve Tijuana shows).
During the Q&A that followed the screening at the L.A. Latino Film Festival, Cazals said that the idea to make this movie came after he read how houses and streets were impregnated with the odor of pulque back then. He certainly succeeded at visually interpreting this onscreen, particularly thanks to a pretty uninhibited cast — and I can attest they're not as "disgusting" in real life —, but I wouldn't recommend Las Vueltas del Citrillo to anybody whose definition of movies is having a good time.
Fred Thom
 Movie Reviews: from 1998 to 2011
Movie Reviews: from 2012 to present
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