Immigration politics, the Trejo way

"You just f*cked with the wrong Mexican."

The titular character faces off with B-movie thesp Seagal

Robert Rodriguez's "Machete" started life as a fake trailer that played with the "Grindhouse" double bill a few years ago, "Planet Terror" (also by Rodriguez) and "Death Proof" (Tarantino). It showed an insane series of images of Rodriquez regular Danny Trejo dispatching of many villains in various bloody ways. So popular was the trailer (some critics preferred it to both "Planet" and "Proof") that Rodriguez developed a feature film based on the concept, and here is the result: "Machete", a semi-grindhouse quasi-exploitation-cum-political-commentary flick. It's moderately successful as exploitation (if you're into that kind of thing), and superficially successful as socio-political commentary ("Immigrants are People Too!")

In addition to cult figure Trejo, a former convict turned actor, the film features a rather bland Jessica Alba, a brief Lindsey Lohan, and Michelle Rodriguez in a gendered spin on a certain Latin American revolutionary. In addition to these, there's also Steven Seagal as the big baddie, Torrez; a mostly silhouetted Don Johnson as a corrupt cop; Robert de Niro as a twisted congressman; and Jeff Fahey, the original "Lawnmower Man" and almost-star of one-time TV hit "The Marshall", as a political schemer, Booth, who compels Machete to action.

Years ago, Mexican federale Machete suffered a great personal tragedy during a bust gone wrong. Now, the near legendary former lawman is a part-time manual labourer. Things change when Fahey spots Machete in a fight, and pays him a lot of money to assassinate a local congressman. Things do not go as planned, and Machete finds himself betrayed, on the run and with a need for vengeance that seems driven more by functionality (vengeance is inevitable) than passion. Vengeance is cold, brutal and caked in blood, and "Machete" commits to a hyperviolence so far beyond the real that it crosses into that area where moral disgust dissipates into a technicality. I cannot go into too much details, but there's a scene where Machete improvises a hospital escape that gives new meaning to notions of inner strength.

The film capitalises optimally on Trejo's unique screen presence, and when he says "Machete don't text", you believe him. The film is called "Machete". I don't have anything more to add.

Oozing, still moving

Robert Rodriquez’s “Planet Terror” is all you could hope for in a “Grindhouse”-style semi-apocalyptic zombie movie driven by wonderfully clichéd characters and a never-ending river of blood and pus. Released together with Tarantino’s “Death Proof”, which seemed to enjoy the most positive criticism, “Planet Terror” has a number of things going for it, most notably a stunning Rose McGowan (who also played the blonde victim in Stuntman Mike’s first ride in “Death Proof”). Her character, Cherry Darling, is a sexy, strong minded individual – considering this is a “Grindhouse” title – who loses a leg early on in the film. If you haven’t seen the trailers or posters for the film, then let it be said that Rodriquez’s use for her leftover stump is rather innovative. In addition to McGowan, Freddie Rodriquez makes a solid action hero (like in the ‘70s and ‘80s, he’s a hero with a past that few know of…) while Marley Shelton and Josh Brolin (who’s had a glorious time in cinema for the past two years) deliver able support.

The look of the film is pure Grindhouse: scratched prints; missing reels; colour bleeding across the whole film; and camerawork that adores the female frame, although Rodriquez’s lens is admittedly even fonder of the viscera splattering everywhere. “Planet Terror” has moments of true humour and horror that exist side by side with parody, pastiche and gore so exaggerated that it cannot be taken seriously for a second. I suspect that few South Africans are familiar with “Grindhouse” style movies, and I suspect that “Planet Terror” will win over few fans. Seeing that this “Grindhouse” endeavour by the Weinstein Company was a financial disaster, I further suspect that we won’t be seeing more of these, so we should enjoy what we have.

Note: there’s a trailer for a film called “Machete” before “Planet Terror” (“Our Feature Presentation”) begins, and oh, how I wished it could be this year’s actual “Grindhouse” release. The trailer is, of course, a faked trailer for a film that doesn’t exist. Note again: the single disc edition available in South Africa has only a handful of extra features. If time is limited but you really want to know how Rodriquez and his team created the visuals for “Planet Terror”, set aside the required time to watch the “10 Minute Film School” feature.