Ratas de la ciudad (1986) watch online HD

Sadly I saw this film as part of a tribute to Valentin Trujillo, who died recently. One of Mexico's more prolific leading men and directors, Ratas de la Cuidad was a fitting film to chose, as it has all the key elements of his canon.

Separated from his son after a stretch in gaol, upon his release Trujillo's typical rough-diamond character is taken under the wing of a cop who pulls a few strings and gets his protégé a place by his side as his partner on the beat. Gradually he proves his worth and courage upholding the law, and wins the trust of his immediate boss. But all the while he's eaten up inside by the knowledge that somewhere out there in the big city his son is living rough, and he is driven by the need to find him. His son, meanwhile, has dropped through the cracks of society into a shadowy gang of child-robbers, who squat in slums and survive by selling their spoils to a Fagin-type fence. With no protection, the kids are forced to look after themselves, and a spiral of violence swirls through the film as it winds up to its inevitably tragic conclusion.

A harsh, gritty look at the realities of urban life, albeit at times melodramatic, but without a trace of sentimentality that is a welcome counterpoint to Hollywood fluff. While the performances are never bravura, the script never sparkles, the set-pieces can be a bit leaden, and the characterisations a touch clichéd, it's a film with it's heart in the right place and which knows its purpose - to tell the story of a corrupt society consuming itself from within in a maelstrom of hatred, retribution, and with little hope of redemption.

Closer to the truth than many want to believe.

The tough and resourceful Pedro (well played by director Valentin Trujillo) gets separated from his son after the boy gets hit by a car driven by a corrupt detective. Refusing to play ball with the cops, Pedro winds up spending five years in jail. Meanwhile, Pedro's son runs away from the hospital and joins a vicious street gang made up of scruffy and dangerous orphan kids. Pedro gets paroled from prison and becomes a police officer so he can find his missing son before it's too late. Director Trujillo delivers a harsh and hard-hitting movie which offers a vivid and convincing depiction of its seedy urban setting, unfolds at a constant quick pace, and relates an absorbing story that's punctuated by startling outbursts of raw and ugly violence. The film's strongest, most chilling and powerful moments show the kids fearlessly attacking and murdering adults in huge numbers. Moreover, we also get rough'n'tumble fisticuffs, an exciting protracted shoot-out between the police and a bunch of terrorists, and even a dab of gratuitous female nudity. But what truly makes this picture work is its admirable refusal to explain the youth gang problem; instead the movie merely shows that this problem exists. The grimy locations, plain cinematography, and shivery score all further enhance the overall gritty atmosphere. Only a rather unnecessary romantic subplot involving Pedro and a fetching lady social worker detracts a bit from the otherwise gripping central narrative. The tragic ending is genuinely heartbreaking. A sound and worthy presentation of a major social issue.

Single father Pedro (Valentín Trujillo) moves to the big city with his son Pedroico looking for work. His luck turns bad nearly immediately as a drunk cop slams crashes his car into a newsstand and injures Pedro's boy. While the kid is in the hospital, Pedro is at the police station where the cop files a false report saying the kid ran out in front of his car. Pedro refuses to sign the report and socks the cop in the face, sending him headfirst into a glass water cooler. Damn. He gets 6 months for the assault, during which time Pedroico runs away from the hospital and becomes a street kid. After assaulting his crooked lawyer, Pedro is given a 5 year stretch and befriends incarcerated cop Carlos (Rodolfo de Anda) after saving him during a failed weight room shanking. 5 years later, Pedro is released and Carlos gets him a job on the force. Apparently things are different in Mexico as cops who did time just get their jobs back and they can recruit ex-cons too. Of course, you can tell where this is going as Pedroico is now a streetwise kid resorting to a life of crime. And guess who is on Pedro's team? The cop who ran over his son. Mucho dramatico!

This was Trujillo's second directorial effort and is good stuff. It is obviously heavy on the melodrama, but I give him points for not going for the happy ending that Hollywood has trained us to expect. There are some good action scenes, including a completely superfluous assault on terrorists in a mansion. Notorious Video Asia released this in an English dubbed version in their Thug City Chronicles DVD set. A word of warning as it is taken from a VHS master that has a tracking problem about 20 minutes in. The bad news? From that point on, the audio is screwed up for the rest of the movie. Truly one of the worst DVDs I've ever had to sit through.