El Mariachi

1993 • 81 minutes

About this movie

All he wants is to be is a mariachi, like his father, his grandfather and his great grandfather before him. But the town he thinks will bring him luck brings only a curse of deadly mistaken identity.Forced to trade his guitar for a gun, the mariachi is playing for his life in this critically-acclaimed film debut from director Robert Rodriguez. Financed with earnings from a month-long stay in a research hospital, this astonishing action adventure was shot with no second takes, using borrowed equipment and a talented cast of unknowns. The riveting result is a wild bullet-dodging ride through aworld of bandido violence, from the suspense of the opening shoot-out to the tragedy of the unexpected conclusion. With little more than a great story and a lot of heart, Rodriguez has created pure movie pleasure, setting new standards for independent filmmaking, and establishing himself as an unquestionable talent. "An enormously entertaining movie." (Roger Ebert, CHICAGO SUN-TIMES) MPAA Rating: R © 1993 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Ratings and reviews

It's a mediocre mexican cartel themed action movie that's worth a watch. What's really impressive is that with $7000 they managed to make a fully fletched movie with several good actors, character development, very interesting and clever storywriting and a good consistent aesthetic.