A Sweet Scent of Death (1999)

• 70% of users liked it
  (79 ratings)

Murder, mob justice and a young man's coming of age are brought together in this thriller filmed in Mexico. Ramon (Diego Luna), a young man who lives in a small Mexican farming community, one day finds the body of Adela (Laila Saab) in a field, stabbed to death. The incident is doubly upsetting for… More Murder, mob justice and a young man's coming of age are brought together in this thriller filmed in Mexico. Ramon (Diego Luna), a young man who lives in a small Mexican farming community, one day finds the body of Adela (Laila Saab) in a field, stabbed to death. The incident is doubly upsetting for Ramon, because he was in love with the girl, though he never did anything about it. The town's sheriff (Hector Alterio) quickly names a culprit, known as the Gypsy (Karra Elejalde). But while the Gypsy was elsewhere at the time of the murder, he can't proclaim his innocence, as he was with his lover at the time, a married woman. Ramon senses something is wrong, but isn't sure what to do -- especially when many in town are pressuring him to avenge the death of the woman he loved, despite the fact it was no more than a schoolboy's crush. The debut film from director Gabriel Retes, Un Dulce Olor A Muerte/A Sweet Scent of Death was shown at the 1999 Guadalajara Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi