Search - El Costo de la Vida (The Cost of Living) on DVD

Some things never change(the high cost of living)

Enrique Torres | San Diegotitlan, Califas | 01/10/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"From the late 80's comes this Mexican drama about a young couple's personal problems with the economy. The couple live in the heart of Mexico City or the DF, as it is known, struggling to get by. You get the visual right away as one of the opening scenes features a bathroom, complete with growth on the white between the shower tiles as the wife states there is no water again. Rafael Sanchez portrays the husband and Alma Delfina the wife; both lead actors have acted in soap operas and the movie has some of those qualities. It is not a big budget production. Anyway, Miguel(husband)loses his job of three years as an architect of sorts who has no degree. Wife, Patricia, keeps them afloat but the high cost of living(hence the title)has them desperate. We follow Miguel looking for a job, the interview process and his carrousing with his friends later which is a spiral into trouble in paradise between the sexes. Their mariage looks doomed as they can't make rent. They get the "smart" idea to turn to crime. It is very predictable before it happens. They become a bad Bonnie and Clyde . He's armed with a knife while she waits in the the getaway VW bug that doesn't start up half the time right away! Talk about needing to upgrade the criminals tools of the trade! We are talking petty criminals. They eventually find themselves no better off and in need of escape. The crime spree continues with consequences. One of the cool scenes in the movie is when they go into a club to hear some music and a young Maldita Vencindad EL CIRCO is playing. OMG, they looked like little high school kids; twenty years ago they probably were! Anyway the movie is fair but since it is dated it does not really hold up well. This is not one you will see remastered. It does have subtitles but not much in the way of extras. For glimpses into Mexican street life and some shots of the city it is ok. As for the storyline, well, it is a tragic story worth telling. Not a great movie but not half bad if you like Mexican cinema. Not exactly a classic, it is average at best."