Rudo y Cursi

This delightful film is like a fable. I would say the lesson is; Beware of what you want. It may come back to haunt you. The story takes place in a small poor town in Mexico as well as Mexico City.

Rudo is the half brother of Cursi. Rudo is married and has several children. He is always losing whatever money he has with gambling. His poor wife tries to manage but keeps finding household items missing because of gambling debts.

Cursi wants to be a musician. He is a handsome looking dude but his voice certainly is lacking. Their main hobby is playing soccer on the local field.

They all live in very impoverished circumstances in a small village. The family lives in a few sheds in a compound like area. They all eat outdoors at a long table. The boys are very good to their mother and keep promising her a beautiful big house on the beach. Poor Mom loves her boys. She is currently living with a beast of a man.

A very sleazy talent scout sees the boys trying to play soccer. He is seen throughout the film with a series of sexy half dressed ‘bimbos.’ He offers Cursi a position on a team that plays in Mexico City. The scout gets payoffs from everybody to let Cursi play. Cursi becomes a big hero and is given a magnificent house beautifully furnished and a big van. He also tries to become a famous singer wearing outlandish outfits. He charms Maya the beautiful lady he has seen on TV. He thinks he has the world at his feet. And then everything seems to go wrong.

Rudo is also offered a position on an opposition team. He takes whatever money is left in the household and sneaks out at night to make his fortune in Mexico City. Later Rudo‘s wife comes to live in Mexico city. It turns out that has been doing well selling vitamins in her local village and now wants to continue making more contacts in Mexico City. His gambling debts become unmanageable and he is threatened with his life. He sells all the furniture in the fancy house owned by Cursi in order to pay off some of his debts.

Cursi begins to lose the ability to play well. A final big game is called and the boys are playing on opposite teams. The scout and others try to bribe Rudo. Bets are made on the game. One of the boys has to be the big loser. The crowds come out and cheer loudly. It was a lot of fun to watch this colorful scene.

The younger sister back home marries the big drug lord of the area. He builds them a fine house and treats the family well.

It is all too bizarre but a lot of fun. The pursuit of fame and wealth didn’t bring the brothers happiness for long.

I suppose many sportsmen go from rags to riches and then back to rags in pursuing a sport. This film told a story but the characters were not real in my mind. I could relax and have fun because I was being told a story that made sense through unreal characters.

The brothers were great in their performance. This is an unusual film and in my opinion was very successful.