1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Find out what's behind the clown maquillaje...and you'll fall in love with her., September 13, 2009
This review is from: Maquillaje (DVD)
Ever see the people out in the sidewalks, carrying signs promoting stores or events? They twirl the signs, dance or do anything else to get your attention. Ever think to yourself, "What's their story?" "Maquillaje" gives you a look into one such person's life: Monica, the "payasa" (clown) from a used car dealership. She stands out front, wearing her clown maquillaje (makeup), handing out ballons and smiling at passerbys to bring in customers. But as with everyone we come across, there's always more behind the makeup. With a brother recently out of jail, a best friend that's a prostitute, a boss that she despises but puts up with and a crush on a coworker that has his own dirty little side job, Monica's social circle isn't the most flattering group. But she's always had a kind heart and looks out for others, often putting her own aspirations aside. She loves her friends and family, but even with all that love there comes a point where we must start to think about ourselves and where we're headed. This is Monica's point in her life.
I've always been a fan of television shows and films with strong/interesting female leads. And Monica is definitely one of those people. She's the type of friend that I, and anyone, would love to have: sweet, caring, thoughtful, supportive and funny (in her own way lol). She's got so much more potential in her than she might realize, definitely more than the car dealership clown. Watching the film, seeing what surrounds her life, her friends and family, I could understand why she sticks around that small town. And in some ways, I could relate to her. I often wonder what more I'm capable of if I put my mind to it. But often, I find my friends and family mean much more to me than anything else.
As a smaller budget dark comedy, it was an interesting film. A pleasant change from all the big budget super-fx laden Hollywood films I tend to watch. It's always nice to take a break from all that and focus on actual storytelling and characters you can love. Another thing I enjoyed, on a personal level, were some of the Mexican cultural references, such as a scene with Monica and her niece where they play a quick game of "La Viejinez", a game that I used to play with my friends as a kid and now had almost forgotten about. So it was a nice flashback moment for me. The film was filmed on location in Jacumba, a border town in Southern California. And it definitely has that border town feel to it, a mix of Mexican/spanish and American/english influences.
I look forward to seeing what's ahead from the writer/director Marcial Rios Salcido.
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