Under the Salt (2008)

i know i wasted 90 mins of my life.

Clever, believable, and super fun to watch. It totally has replay value.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Slow, small town, Mexico. Everything revolves around the salt mine. Mounds of white rock and powder, seep into the very soul of the people. The young women disappear and some of the bodies are finally found. Edgy, rough big town policeman is sent to solve the case. This is a different kind of Mexican movie. Slow moving, creepy, with horror undertones. Eccentric characters all over the place... and that is the trouble. Everything seems to be a little slanted, a bit shafted to the side, albeit intensionally in a manipulative way. Like the director wasn't sure enough in the story, so he felt the urge to connive and twist little too far to be believable. Still, well worth watching.

BAJO LA SAL has a lot going for it: a BLUE VELVET kind of quirkiness, some solid performances (with one notable exception: the Culprit, who, when revealed, chews the scenery toothlessly; Dennis Hopper this guy ain't), and some genuinely suspenseful moments. The undertaker's son shows up for his date driving (of course) the family hearse. But rest assured: the quirkiness doesn't stop there: the kid makes his own stop-motion slasher flicks using Barbie dolls, and these are intercut throughout the movie proper (sometimes featuring slow motion sequences that only add to the unsavory savoring of the slashings). Like the aforementioned BLUE VELVET, UNDER THE SALT is a murder mystery into which our hero (also a suspect) gets sucked. A little more depth to the grizzled ex-cop would've helped (we never really get to know him, but his "outing" as an EX cop lends one more twist to an already twisted tale) and, as stated, the villain's big finale leaves a lot to be desired, but BAJO LA SAL is nonetheless worth a look.

Good acting, decent plot, an interesting setting in a town that has a huge salt producing factory which plays well as a backdrop. There is a lot of intriguing character development and interaction, including that between the law enforcement characters, the school characters, and at the funeral home. I disagree with reviewers who said that we don't really care about the characters -- I would rate this aspect highly.I was less impressed by the doll play which struck me as a bit gimmicky but overall the movie was definitely worth seeing as a slightly gruesome horror/mystery. I'm fairly bilingual, and the subtitles were very well done -- often they are not.

Mexican cinema has never been known for its ventures into genre. Generally we are accustomed to the heavy socially oriented drama that reminds the rest of the world of the low capacities of this country. This was the old school, but it reigned for more than 5 decades. I am pleased to gather that this no longer reflects the present and the future of cinema in this country. Bajo la sal, or Under the salt, is a compelling, if somewhat predictable slightly clichéd thriller that was premiered last night at the Morelia International Film Festival, and I had the pleasure to be at the red carpet. The director was there, along several actors and the screenwriter , they seemed quite surprised of the highly wide reception the film had with audiences. Although the film is not without its problems, it worked. Humberto Zurita, a legend in Mexico, stars as a police detective who is now investigating a series of murders in a far town whose main trade is salt mines. The film explores the plots, lies and secrets a small town carries under its grass, a lá Blue Velvet. One of the most interesting things about the movie are a set of dreamlike animations with dolls, that reflect the broken mind of the teenager who works at the funeral home. These set pieces will give something to talk about among moviegoers. Overall, a nice effort, not the best thriller ever, perhaps in terms of Mexican cinema it is a milestone, but bot for the genre. Let us hope we are watching the first in a row of interesting, different and more daring Mexican cinema that is already at the door.