Days of Grace (DVD REVIEW)
Days
of Grace
DVD Review by Kam Williams
Peckinpah-Style Mexican Splatterfest Arrives on DVD
Days of Grace is
the title of Arthur Ashe’s moving memoir about his remarkable tennis career as
well as his stoic battle with AIDS after receiving a contaminated blood
transfusion. By contrast, Days of Grace, the movie, is a gruesome gansta’ saga
set in Mexico City.
The intricately-plotted
crime thriller takes place in 2002, 2006 and 2010 during the weeks when the
World Cup is being played. Apparently, that’s a great time to break the law,
since both citizens and the police are so focused on the games that they
unwittingly lower their guard.
The film is constructed as
a trio of discrete storylines, although all paint Mexico as a godforsaken environ run
by mobsters and crooked cops. Because they unfold simultaneously instead of
chronologically, it’s a little difficult to keep the casts of characters
straight, especially if you don’t speak Spanish and need to read the subtitles.
One thread revolves around
the frustrations encountered by a socialite (Dolores Heredia) desperate to free
her husband (Juan Carlos Remolina) who’s been abducted for a $2 million ransom.
Apparently there’s a lot of that going around south of the border.
Trouble is the detectives
handling the case are so corrupt she’s even more afraid of them than the
kidnappers. A second thread focuses on another kidnapped businessman’s (Carlos
Bardem) ordeal while the third chronicles the friendship forged between an
honest cop (Tenoch Huerta) and the at-risk 9 year-old (Jose Alberto Solorzano)
he’s mentoring with tough love.
Written and directed by
Everardo Valerio Gout, Days of Grace features gratuitous violence, graphic
vivisection and slo-mo displays of senseless slaughter reminiscent of such
masters of the genre as John Woo and Sam Peckinpah. If lingering looks at
torture gets your juices going, this indulgence of bloodlust is probably right
up your alley.
The best Mexican
splatterfest since Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia.
Excellent (4 stars)
Unrated
In
Spanish and English with subtitles
Running
time: 121 minutes
Distributor:
Cinema Libre Studio
DVD
Extras: Photo gallery; trailers; a behind-the-scenes featurette; and an interactive
menu.
To
see a trailer for Days of Grace, visit:
To
order a copy of Days of Grace on DVD, visit:
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