Product Details

• Actors: Roberto Cobo, Francisco Rey
• Directors: Leopoldo Laborde
• Format: Black & White, DVD, Subtitled, NTSC
• Language: Spanish
• Subtitles: English
• Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Studio: Vanguard Cinema
• DVD Release Date: January 2, 2007
• Run Time: 94 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B000I5X7Z2
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #100,896 in Movies & TV (See Bestsellers in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

A modern re-telling of Luis Bu uel Los Olvidados and starring its young boy star appearing here as an old man. Fifteen-year old Frank sells his body to men to survive and to feed his drug habit. His best friend and dealer advises him on how to get a woman something the young man has no experience with. Frank s attraction to beautiful Angelica is about to blossom when an old man turns up in his life confusing Frank about life priorities and his own sexual orientation. A shocking coming-of-age story set against a dark and seductive underbelly of Mexico City. A film by Mexico s hot young director Leopoldo Laborde (Enemigo).System Requirements:Run Time: 94 minsFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: LATIN/DRAMA Rating: NR UPC: 658769641530 Manufacturer No: VF6415

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very real movie, May 13, 2007

By	M. Kline "Mike K." (San Diego CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I live in Mexico and I've been to Mexico City. This movie is the real deal, it holds nothing back about that side of life. The actors are beautiful & talented. I loved it.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Gritty Drama from an Innovative Mexican Director, March 6, 2009

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Mexican writer/director Leopoldo Laborde has made a number of low budget, challenging, controversial films, using his cadre of nonprofessional actors and crew and he is gathering a following for his courage and his unique style. SIN DESTINO is a good introduction to his work - a film about the seamy side of Mexico City's life told with verismo style that at times is difficult to watch but yet one that succeeds in conveying his story well.

Using a combination of black and white with intervals of color photography, SIN DESTINO follows the life of a fifteen-year old Francisco/Frank (Francisco Rey) who has been a sex worker since his desperate introduction to the desires of older men when he was nine years old. He regularly engages in same sex activity for money to pay for a drug habit that is out of control. His friend and dealer is the understanding David (David Valdez) who 'loans' Frank money and coke when Frank is desperate, but also feels the need to get Frank out of the sex market by introducing him to women: David believes that once Frank has sex with a woman he will forego his street ways and have a chance at life. Frank happens to view a blonde girl Angelica (Mariana Gaja) and for the first time feels attraction to women. David sets Frank up with a kind-hearted prostitute Perla (Sylvia Vilchis) who offers Frank understanding and tenderness even though Frank is unable to perform. Frank has disturbing dreams and visions of his initial initiation into the male hustler life by an older child pornographer Sebastian (Roberto Cobo) and these intensely ugly memories are mixed with his delusions of sexual encounters with Angelica: these scenes appear in color and make a fine contrast in the 'magical realism' vein.

David encourages Frank to bed Angelica and sells him (through money he will retrieve from an incidental reunion with Sebastian) a love potion that will assure his sexual success with Angelica. Frank visits Sebastian after a six-year absence, obtains the money through violent means, and has his desired hook up with Angelica that results in a cruel tragedy that completes the film. David remains at Frank's side through the sequelae that follow and the film ends on a dark note that all but extinguishes Frank's hope for a favorable destiny.

Laborde knows what he wants and opts for a crude, rough, seemingly spontaneous non-rehearsed style of acting from his crew. He is able to draw from Francisco Rey an empathetic character, a lad who is stuck in the quagmire of the slim that faces the poor kids of the big city. Laborde is even able to make his 'evil johns' such as Sebastian more than simply dark caricatures. His cinematographer Jorge Rubio Casarín is at all times in sync with Laborde's vision, even though the camera use is inordinately distracting with its play of light and dark at times. It is only after the film is over that Laborde's use of the fate, death and love potion motifs from Wagner's 'Tristan und Isolde' are appreciated, and that is an example of how much energy the writer/director has in his visions, a trait that suggests he may become a significant force in Mexican film-making. The film contains considerable violence, nudity, simulated sex scenes, drug use and harsh language, but one cannot imagine this story being told without those elements. In Spanish with English subtitles. Grady Harp

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing movie; bad video quality., June 14, 2007

By	Johan1FS (Bloemfontein, Free State South Africa) - See all my reviews

I thought the movie was excellent despite it's "student film" qualities ... maybe that contributed to my perception. The subject matter might be disturbing for some. The commentaries and other extras was quite interesting and gave a lot of insight. It is a pity the video quality of the DVD is even worse than VHS; I couldn't figure out if it was by design or just because of a bad transfer. I found the Spanish hard to understand, apart from not speaking it well, it was difficult to hear the words. The subtitling was adequate, although not very well formated.