3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Illicit Love In The Sun--Can A Family Be Too Close?, October 8, 2010
There is a rather illicit premise in "Mancora" that is both intriguing and off-putting. However, I do think the plot device is developed well and used to the film's advantage. Essentially a sun-drenched coming-of-age story (although the lead is a young man, not a boy), this Peruvian tale engages both as a bohemian romp and a domestic drama. It is a pleasing blend that distinguishes "Mancora" and the film's subtlety makes it special. It never telegraphs how you are supposed to feel about what is going on and allows you to make up your own mind. I was thankful for that!
When Santiago's father commits suicide, he is both haunted and filled with rage in the aftermath. Never the most social of individuals, Santiago (an intense, but appealing Jason Day) now cuts himself off completely from the world. Hoping to connect with simpler times, he opts to get out of the city and head for the beaches of Mancora--a place of happier memories. His estranged step-sister, with her husband, has used this unfortunate opportunity to reconnect with Santiago and be a support. Having already traveled from America, they also find themselves along for the ride to Mancora. The trip is filled with sun, surfing, parties and seems to be just the tonic needed. But the growing attraction between step-siblings takes things in a distinctly new direction. Handled sensitively and believably, the two fall into a relationship.
Mancora is bolstered by terrific performances by Day as well as Elsa Pataky and Enrique Murciano as the other sides of this domestic triangle. Pataky is inherently likable and Murciano has an immense charm. The three leads keep Mancora on track. No one is perfect or correct, but you stay with the characters despite their massive flaws--and I, for one, was very interested to see where things were going. Good story, winning performances, gorgeous setting, and plenty of beach bodies--"Mancora" is an entertainment that also makes you contemplate the consequences of your indiscretions. KGHarris, 10/10.
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6 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Máncora, March 19, 2010
There are several explicit sex scenes in Máncora that I personally enjoyed; and at the beginning of the movie, I really thought I had a winner in artistic terms as well. From the picture and summary on the DVD cover, I quickly realized that during an excursion to a Peruvian beach resort, Santiago would have sex with his sister-in-law, Ximena. I imagined that the movie might explore the moral and psychological consequences of this "boundary-crossing and betrayal."
To a certain extent, there was such an exploration, but the narrative thread of Máncora just went too limp in the movie's middle. Instead of concentrating on the triad of Santiago-Ximena-Iñigo, there were numerous scenes that really took the film nowhere and dissipated the dramatic tension.
I don't consider Máncora a bad movie; but for anyone with limited viewing time, there are much better Spanish-language films to be seen.
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4.0 out of 5 stars
Hot! Hot! Hot!, January 25, 2012
Hot! film. Reminded me a little of the film, "Y Tu Mama Tambien", with the actors: Gael Garcia Bernal, Diego Luna, and Maribel Verdu. See the scenery on the road trip and life at the beach town of Mancora. Lust, loss, and redemption.
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