La Ley de Herodes (Herod's Law) (2000)

68% of critics liked it
(25 reviews)
87% of users liked it
(2,071 ratings)

Luis Estrada directs this groundbreaking and extremely controversial satire about Mexico's long-ruling political party, the PRI. Set in the late 1940s in the remote, thoroughly backwards village of San Pedro de los Saguaros, the film focuses on Vargas (Damian Alcazar), a petty politician who had the… More Luis Estrada directs this groundbreaking and extremely controversial satire about Mexico's long-ruling political party, the PRI. Set in the late 1940s in the remote, thoroughly backwards village of San Pedro de los Saguaros, the film focuses on Vargas (Damian Alcazar), a petty politician who had the dubious honor of being appointed town mayor after his predecessor was decapitated for corruption by an angry mob. At first, he tries to balance the books and to bring the 20th century to the backwaters. When he is visited by slick PRI politico Lopez (Pedro Armendariz), however, he learns the officially sanctioned way of running the town: at gunpoint while pilfering the bank vaults. Soon Vargas becomes a power-mad despot, more than willing to steal or kill to further his goals. Though his PRI bosses try to reign him in, the lynch mob soon appears to be the inevitable end of Vargas' political career. The first film to criticize the PRI by name, Estrada's bitter farce savages the ruling party, the church and U.S. intervention. Cult director Alex Cox plays a small role as a seedy gringo. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: R, 2 hr.
Directed By: Luis Estrada
Genres: Drama, Art House & International, Comedy

In Theaters: Jan 20, 2000 Wide
On DVD: Feb 3, 2004
Studio: Venevision International Films

Critic Reviews

Matt Weitz, Denver Rocky Mountain News
Herod's Law is beautifully photographed, its imagery glazed with a sepia patina that suggests dust and neglect.
Jeff Strickler, Minneapolis Star Tribune
Alczar, who won the Mexican Oscar for his performance, brings a lot of energy to the role, but it's not enough to counterbalance the film's heavy-handed predictability.
Carla Meyer, San Francisco Chronicle
Alcazar makes a deft transition from idiot to maniac, serving as an anchor for the broad performances around him.
Wesley Morris, Boston Globe
Funny, evocatively photographed, and vibrantly acted salvo.
Eleanor Ringel Gillespie, Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Comes off as cartoonish drivel, broadly played and poorly written.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Luis Estrada, the co-writer and director, uses his characters so clearly as symbols that he neglects to give them the complexity of human beings.
Duane Dudek, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Often heavy-handed and obvious.
Frank Swietek, One Guy's Opinion
Half Preston Sturges and half Sam Peckinpah...though it sometimes takes its swipes with a bludgeon rather than a scalpel, it hits more often than it misses.
Cherryl Dawson and Leigh Ann Palone, TheMovieChicks.com
To connect with the story, you have to care about the victims or the character who falls from grace and unfortunately, you don't give a hot tamale about either.
Chris Hewitt (St. Paul), St. Paul Pioneer Press
Yeah, OK, we know. Absolutely power corrupts absolutely. What else?
Dan Fazio, Citysearch
Juan arms himself with a rewritten town constitution and a pistol. Kinky sex and ill-gotten dinero shortly follow.
Ted Fry, Seattle Times
Accomplished and delightfully subversive.

Read all 12 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Pierluigi P

Starts off with a funny, caustic humour, but the tone changes and wears off, drags, stretches in an unfunny, unsurprising second half. The idea was better than the outcome. Great leading performance.
Lenny M

The first movie I saw in Mexico, a good representation of the corruption of the PRI, yet again something that should be studied before watching the film. Solid satire throughout of the political atmosphere of Mexico post-WWII. Good acting, funny, and also has its fair share of… More
The first movie I saw in Mexico, a good representation of the corruption of the PRI, yet again something that should be studied before watching the film. Solid satire throughout of the political atmosphere of Mexico post-WWII. Good acting, funny, and also has its fair share of violence.