Ho. Ly. Shit. What a goddamn movie this is! Shot with noirish brilliance by the legendary Gabriel Figueroa, Victims of Sin is 300 pounds of brutality and emotion packed into a magnificent 90-minute bag, all built around a spectacular performance by Ninón Sevilla.Sevilla plays Violeta, a woman who refuses to be beaten down either by her life or the men in it, fighting — physically, when necessary — for survival with a riveting ferocity. She is astonishing character, and Sevilla embodies her with complete abandon, embracing every emotion with absolute commitment, and infusing her dances with an athleticism and knowing sensuality that make it impossible to take your eyes off her. The first time Violeta performs at La Maquina Loca is the film's emotional peak, a dance with the kind of freedom and joy that only exist when someone is doing the one thing they were born to do. Watching it feels like such a privilege — and one that is completely earned, narratively — that it's hard to respond with anything but the most joyous of tears, as we watch this woman (these woman) passionately embrace her life and everything in it.The scene is an actress and character in perfect harmony, and it's moment that tells us, once and for all, that Violeta will make it out. She might be bruised and hungry, and she might be desperate, but she will never be defeated, because Violeta is stronger and tougher and more powerful than anyone around her could ever imagine and, in the end she will triumph. ⏩ ☃️ Winter of (foreign language) Noir 🗡️
I was all on board for this film noir that packs a fair bit of flair and dark turns but also has these fun musical dance numbers constantly peering up that one could say it has Bollywood elements though the songs are always realized as bar dance routines that sometimes infer emotions that are ongoing in the story. There is a lot of reasons to check this out from it's stylized unique setting to the solid cinematography a script that moves and is audacious that had me shocked that it came out at this time. I loved Rodolfo Acosta(Rodolfo) as this maniacal bad guy with no morals but 100% you have to see this film for the talent and beauty of Ninón Sevilla(Violeta) who dances with such fervent passion and joy that truly lights up the screen. Honestly this was a true delight and opened my eyes to a genre that I never knew about called the Rumberas that sound very intriguing but have there set guidelines like much genre pics do. What a banger of a film.
A treasure of Mexico’s cinematic golden age, this deliriously plotted blend of gritty crime film, heart-tugging maternal melodrama, and mambo musical is a dazzling showcase for iconic star Ninón Sevilla. She brings fierce charisma and fiery strength to her role as a rumbera—a female nightclub dancer—who gives up everything to raise an abandoned boy, whom she must protect from his ruthless gangster father. Directed at a dizzying pace by filmmaking titan Emilio Fernández, and shot in stylish chiaroscuro by renowned cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa amid smoky dance halls and atmospherically seedy underworld haunts, Victims of Sin is a ferociously entertaining female-powered noir pulsing with the intoxicating rhythms of some of Latin America’s most legendary musical stars.Our edition arrives on June 18, 2024. To learn more or pre-order, visit Criterion.com.
