Cheap La Ley De Herodes (Herod's Law) (DVD) (Luis Estrada) Price

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Customer Reviews of La Ley De Herodes (Herod's Law)

"In this country, honesty gets you nowhere."
After the third mayor of the dirt-poor town, San Pedro de los Saguaros is murdered, officials of the PRI party look for an idiot to take over the role. They chose Juan Vargas (Damian Alcazar), and send him off to the town to take control. Vargas and his wife, Gloria (Leticia Huijara) are appalled by the town. The town is basically a collection of dilapidated shacks with a population of about 100 people--mostly Indians. Even the school is stripped bare after repeated looting by various government officials. San Pedro has its own brothel run by the gloriously vulgar Dona Lupe. The town's doctor swears that all the evil in the town comes from the brothel, and that it's the mayor's duty to close it down. Vargas quickly learns that the town operates with bribes--even the corrupt priest demands one peso per sin in the confessional box. Urged on by his wife, Vargas returns to his superior, Lopez and asks for money for the town. Lopez hands him a gun and a heavy law book, and tells him that he's in charge ... <
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>Using Herod's Law as his guide, Vargas proceeds to develop into a petty despot. An expurgated version of Herod's Law is "Do it to them before they do it to you." This handy-dandy motto then becomes the tool by which Vargas deals with the town. <
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>"Herod's Law" is a political satire. The story begins in 1948 and the film satirizes the PRI (Partido Revolucionario Institucional) that ruled Mexico from more than 70 years until it was replaced in 2000 by the Partido Accion Nacional. There's a sole American, Sam, in the story who becomes an advisor of sorts after a crafty car repair. Does the American engineer represent America's symbolic role for Mexico? That you must decide for yourself after watching the film. Note the role of Sam, the American is played by Alex Cox (director of "Sid and Nancy" and "Repo Man"). The film illustrates the utter corruption of an individual, and as I watched the film I thought of the quote from Lord Acton, "absolute power corrupts absolutely". "Herod's Law" was originally supressed by the ruling PRI government of Mexico, and it's a great tale of one man's corruption, but at the same time it's a blistering critique of 70 years of PRI rule. "Herod's Law" is in Spanish with English subtitles--displacedhuman

Very Funny Political Satire
This very funny movie satirizes the PRI party of Mexico, political corruption, and human nature. After the townspeople of a tiny, isolated, extremely poor Mexican town rise up against their corrupt mayor, the ruling party names a minor political functionary, selected for his stupidity, to preside over (and avoid trouble in) the town pending the selection of candidates for the next election. What ensues in illustration of the maxim that power corrupts is both hilarious and appalling. With amazing location shots that take you to the poorest regions of Mexico, where residents may not even speak Spanish, memorable characters (including an American), and a wonderful mambo orchestra score, this movie is definitely recommended.