Place Without Limits
Original Title
El Lugar Sin Límites...aka: Hell Without Limits- Director: Arturo Ripstein
- Writer: José Donoso
- Producer: Francisco del Villar
CGiii Comment
Considering that this was made in 1978 when very few - and no-one in Mexico - were making films about gay men - this is a definite landmark.
This film is truly remarkable for the way it presents a critique of macho culture - with a gay cross-dressing father falling for the same butch buffoon as his daughter.
Ripstein doesn't dwell on any one critique - he just points the camera and lets the actors indulge themselves - at times with relish.
An important film.
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
Family honor, greed, machismo, homophobia, and the dreams of whores collide in a Mexican town. Rich, elderly Don Alejo is poised to sell the town for a profit, needing only to buy a whorehouse to own all the buildings and close the deal. It's owned by a man and his daughter: Manuelita is gay, aging, afraid; he cross-dresses and entertains as a flamenco dancer; he wants to sell and leave. His daughter wants to stay. The return of Pancho complicates things: he's a hothead Alejo tries to control and he scared Manuelita the year before. Things come to a head as Pancho breaks Alejo's hold on him, then flirts and dances with Manuelita and finds himself at risk of being called a "maricón."
Cast & Characters
Roberto Cobo as La Manuela;
Lucha Villa as La Japonesa;
Ana Martin as Japonesita;
Gonzalo Vega as Pancho;
Julian Pastor as Octavio;
Carmen Salinas as Lucy;
Fernando Soler as Don Alejo;
Emma Roldan as Ludovinia;
Hortensia Santove-a as Clotilde;
Blanca Torres as Blanca;
Marta Aura as Emma, hermana de Pancho;
Tere Olmedo as Lila