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Ratas, ratones, rateros. Dit Sebastian Cordero. Ecuador, 1999. Duration: 107 min.
Ratas, ratones, rateros, the debut film of writer/director Sebastian Cordero, was the first Ecuadorian film invited to the prestigious film festival Mostra Internazionale D'Arte in Venice, where it had its world premiere in September 1999. Here it was awarded the Best First Film prize. Other important awards that the film received were: Best Film at the Festival de Cine Latinoamericano de Trieste, Italy, in 1999 as well as Best First Film and Best Actor for Carlos Valencia at the Festival de Cine Iberoamericano de Huelva, Spain. Not surprisingly, other awards followed.
Ratas, ratones, rateras, is aptly named. It is a foray into the street life of the youth of Quito, Ecuador. At times it is painful to watch the human rats Cordero created. As so often is the case in the rodent world, Cordero's rats do their most damage to others as well as to themselves at night or in darkened rooms. When they appear in daylight, they are either fleeing a crime they have perpetrated or trying to climb out of the debris in which they live. An occasional spark of relief from the drab ignites the screen through the main character's lighting of his cocaine cigarettes. For him, and many like him, drugs seem to be the only means by which he will ever escape his environment, albeit temporarily. At these moments, Cordero uses lighting in flashes to emphasize the erratic behavior of the drug user and the short-lived confidence he feels while high. The movements on the screen are quick and jerky, serving as a prelude to the next murder, drug deal or robbery. These scenes are punctuated with frenetic music that highlights the chaotic lifestyle of Angel and his constant need to be moving away from one horror and toward another. The director creates a mood that is harsh. The scenes indoors are dark and shadowy, and those outside are often at night. The characters merely survive in an oppressive atmosphere. We see in this film the lowest of the low, that which survives beneath the scum.
The protagonist, Angel, has just been released from jail. He owes money and is pursued by those wanting him to pay his debts....