Our Lady of the Assassins (2000) User Reviews

Madonna of the killers

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 8 March 2006]

Medellin is a dangerous city in more ways than one is lead to believe. At the time of the action, Pablo Escobar's empire has been dismantled and his loyal soldiers are scattered all around the city engaging in a game of death, revenge and petty vendettas. There is no reverence for life in a place that has seen violence on a daily basis and where children have access to guns for protection in order to survive in that environment.

Barbet Schroeder, the German director, expands on Fernando Vallejo's novel, which the author adapted for the screen, resulting in a highly violent and bloody film that is disturbing, as well as true.

Fernando, the older gay man who comes back to his native city of Medellin, quickly finds a boy to satisfy his needs. Alexis, the young man, is seen at first at the all-male brothel where he is offered by the pimp to Fernando. Alexis turns out to be something the older man didn't expect. This is a boy that is savvy in the ways of how to survive in the city, who clearly takes an interest in the older, and richer Fernando.

Alexis is a marked man and it's only a matter of time; his days are numbered because there are other youths behind him that will do whatever in their power to eliminate him. Fernando can't believe what his city has become, but he has no desire to go away again. When Alexis is killed, Fernando mourns his death until Wilmar, another young gay man appears in his orbit. Little prepares Fernando to realize who Wilmar is really.

Fernando's comments on the situation in his city, as well as in the Colombian reality, are the basic themes of the film. While one side of him cries for that old place he knew as a child, he welcomes this new metropolis full of danger and people that attracts and repulses him at the same time.

German Jaramillo appears to be the alter ego for the writer, Fernando Vallejo, whose story seems to resemble that of the Fernando in the novel and in the film. Mr. Jaramillo's take on Fernando keeps him away from the confrontations between his young lovers and what he thinks is right. He never passes judgment on what the young people are doing, yet he is instrumental for providing the bullets that Alexis needs to defend himself. The other two young actors, Anderson Ballesteros and Juan Diego Restrepo, play Alexis and Wilmar respectively.

Barbet Schroeder has directed the film with all its realism showing us a society in which all hope seems to have abandoned the citizens of the city.

Violent and harsh narration inspired on actual events

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 1 June 2006]

The film is set in Medellin (Colombia) where an old gay man called Fernando (Jaramillo) who after many years ago he has gone back . In a homosexual brothel meets and befriends Alexis (Anderson) a teen at 16 years old and starts a romance with him . He's a gunboy who kills too easily , he unscrupulously murders everybody create him problems . Fernando is struggling to flee him the ominous underworld plentiful of dangers , odds and murders .

The picture deals about adolescents and children from Medellin . This city was under incredible violence and ruled the strongest law . Pablo Escobar has been detained and his drugs empire has been dismantled and the factions are spread engaging war each other and making an orgy of vengeance and killings . The movie is a thought-provoking and intelligent studio of juvenile paupers and an unflinching observation at the underbelly of Medellin city where teens and children are dragged into a life of crime become assassins . The flick contains emotions , records , strong violence and a little bit of critical social . The tale belongs a group of films which describe the unfortunate life of south-American youth as ¨Pixote¨ (Hector Babenco) and ¨City of God¨ (Fernando Melleires). Principal actors interpretation are outstanding , in spite of being novels players . Jaramillo is magnificent though relies heavily on the continuous philosophical speeches about his sense of life . The picture is an adaptation based on a semi-autobiography novel by Fernando Vallejo . Barbet Schroeder direction is awesome and stylish , he's a notorious Hollywood director (Murder by numbers , Reversal of fortune) realizing rightly this video- film .

Not nearly poignant enough.

[SGAngel · 6/10 · 16 October 2001]

Our Lady of The Assassins will have you either loving it or hating it. It polarizes because it never compels as a movie itself, but is laid out before each person, needing him or her to internalize the film. The movie speaks of living in a Columbian drug town and the irony as people get shot everyday by moral-less teens set against the beautiful city and sky. But the main character, an old gay writer, is never engaging or as articulate and thoughtful as one would expect from the "best known grammarian" from Columbia. In fact, as grammar is rigidly structured, so are the writer's banal comments about 'time being what you want it to be' and 'life only being lived to die.' The musings have been heard before, but with greater clarity and depth. There is no epiphany to be associated with any of his sayings. However, he meets a young former gang member, marked for death, named Alexis and they fall in love. The film is so detached that their love is the closest element to emotion, and still one cannot understand why this boy would sleep with a man who incessantly whines constantly. The shocking life in Medellin is the most compelling aspect of the movie and the movie still has points, it's just that they are not nearly poignant enough. They are shown by the director, but never cohesively placed into an argument. I really wished I could have liked this movie.

Black magic realism

[mne2596 · 10 September 2001]

Occasionally venturing into dreamlike surrealism, the movie mostly hits you with a heavy dose of cinema verite. The movie is about the city of Medellin in the same way that Midnight Cowboy is about New York. The characters aren't dealing with the problem of staying human in a huge metropolis, but staying human in the midst of instability that verges on anarchy.

The effects of fifty years of civil war aggravated by narcotrafficking and the associated crime are shown in two ways, which are the central themes of the film: the shift from the old and traditional to the modern, and the loss of value that human life has suffered. The banality of the several killings in the movie drives home the second, and the explorations that Fernando and his two boyfriends (sequential, not simultaneous) take through the city show the first.

The movie is violent like the Godfather is violent: the killings are not gratuitous, they are there to make a point. As a document of life in an industrial Andean city which just happens to be the second city of the country poised to become the next Vietnam, or better said, the next El Salvador, La virgen de los sicarios is excellent. It is sophisticated in its writing and its photography. The characters are human and complex. It ought to be in far wider release than just one screen in the whole L.A. area - which happens to be on the West Side, where Spanish-speaking people typically don't live.

Disturbing, depressing

[preppy-3 · 7/10 · 9 October 2001]

An old, gay Colombian writer Fernando (German Jaramillo) falls in love with a young, gay punk Alexis (Anderson Bullesteros) and they walk around Colombia exploring and talking and talking and talking...Later on he does it with another punk Wilmar (Juan David Restrepo). The film is interesting with some very interesting dialogue and some truly beautiful scenery (sometimes it seems more like a travelogue on Colombia). The acting seems to me very natural and unforced (although Restrepo wasn't that good) and the two young men playing Alexis and Wilmar are just incredibly beautiful. But...what's the point? Fernando's questioning about love, life and death gets tiresome and the Alexis' and Wilmars' casual killings are disturbing. Also the movie is VERY depressing--I left the theatre in a miserable mood. So, I'm giving it a 7 because it was interesting--but what was the point? I'm assuming it's trying to show gay life in Colombia--but I'm not sure.

Interesting topic, bad acting

[richard-149 · 7/10 · 26 September 2000]

Medellin is being filmed with majesty. The theme is interesting and original, but not very well developed. The writer becomes too easily entrenched into the criminal path. Also, we do not have many hints to understand his despair, his story. But this is not as bad as the acting; too bad, but it is disturbing, especially the young killers...

Forcing the audience to question the value of life

[jvframe · 10/10 · 8 August 2001]

Our Lady Of Assassins showed at the Brisbane International Film Festival. It left me initially distraught and other members of the audience obviously felt the same. After a bit of thought, I realised that it was indeed a powerful and beautifully created way of presenting the desperate nature of life in Medellin. The main character, who was born and raised in the town, remembers how potentially violent it was even 40 years earlier, yet seems to be shocked by how much it has decayed. It is strange that he is also quite complicit in inciting violence, while seeming to be just looking for love.

The film forces the audience to question the day to day value of life and just how much violence we can allow ourselves to tolerate. But in Medellin the solution is certainly not in the hands of just one person.

A great trio of films showing the broad story of the cocaine phenomena would be "Our Lady Of Assassins", Ted Demme's "Blow" and "Traffic".

A masterful telling of a thin and vague story

[=G= · 7/10 · 29 March 2002]

"Our Lady of the Assassins" tells of a gay man who returns home to Medellin, Colombia after 30+ years abroad to find wanton killing and near anarchy in the streets, the sad result of years as the capital of the South American drug trade. The film is little more than the catholic-turned-atheist man and his young lovers roaming his childhood haunts while ruminating about the plight of humanity he sees as street thugs "off" others daily with no remorse. An excellent and stylish shoot with a very real "feel", this film is an artful and smart production. However, the story it tells could have well been in South Central Los Angeles and shows us nothing new. Some may be turned off by the gay sex, misanthropic undercurrents, and subtitles. Recommended for foreign film buffs into reality flix.

from a respite from dull films, see this

[jetwimp · 10/10 · 5 August 2002]

A middle-aged Colombian writer, disgusted with life and contemptuous of religion, becomes involved sexually and romantically with teen-aged Medellin boys who kill effortlessly and with little provocation. At first appalled, he eventually grows addicted to the deaths the boys bring about, their magical ability to resolve the annoyances of everyday life, such as noisy neighbors and aggressive cab subway riders. The plot has some really astonishing surprises, and the taut nearly flawless script (in Spanish) is a treasure. The film , obviously the product of a philosophically inclined mind (Schroeder studied philosophy at the Sorbonne), is a thinking filmgoer's feast and works on many different levels. The main character's ambivalence about religion (the film's title, and the fact that the writer keeps finding himself in cathedrals) furnishes much matter for reflection. This film is not for everyone--- it is, even for these times, shocking. Those more comfortable with the blowsy and predictable product issuing from Hollywood committees should probably avoid it. But those who treasure the ability of film to explore provocative and original ideas will love it.

A good but slightly unaccomplished film

[lord_KRISHNA · 7/10 · 11 September 2002]

This has been one of the rare films I got to watch in the big screen. It conveys all the power and emotion of latin american cinematography and deals with complicated yet simple issues like the existence of God and the need to endure hardships or the inevitable tendency for things to fall into chaos and wether or not is it worthwhile.

The movie is very bitter at points, while at others seems to be stepping out of normality. Throughout the whole thing it is quite weird.

There are some technical problems which make it look somewhat amateurish, at least in my opinion. I also don't think the actors can quite squeeze all the drama out of their characters.

People who don't enjoy gay films should be advised there's some action in that department.

Otherwise, it does raise excellent points and should definetively be seen.

Unconvincing, disappointing, dull

[djores · 1/10 · 7 December 2005]

This movie is about aging, loving, losing, and coming to terms with the world as a place of change and violence. However, it is only "about" these things and no more.

Being a "message" movie with no message, it fails to convince on every level. The protagonist's single dimension is his revisiting the city of his childhood only to be shocked by how different it is (who knew that Columbia is a violent place?) His pseudo-existentialist musings fall all over the map (humanist, misanthropic, rebellious, disillusioned) and convince his young lover even less than the audience. The young lover in question is spared the luxury of being even one-dimensional: he's a scripted appendix to the gun in his belt and the stereo blasting "rock" music (standing in for America's cultural hegemony?) The homosexual relationship between the two characters is completely unnecessary and artificial; it seems thrown in to raise the controversy factor but lacks in chemistry and credibility (why are they together - if it's only for the sex, where is the sex?) It only serves the purpose of bringing about the solitary plot twist in the narrative (namely, the second lover), which seems like a desperate attempt to save the movie out of nowhere.

The book, upon which the movie is based, has some Socratic undercurrent; the movie "cleverly" translates it into dogmatism (with a hammer over your head) rather than irony (if any questions are raised by Fernando, they just hover in the vacuum of the director's confused efforts to figure out where his movie is going.) See instead 'Amores perros' or 'Ratas, ratones, rateros' or read Fernando Vallejo's book.

The best! Brilliant! Masterpiece!

[john-styber · 10/10 · 3 November 2007]

This movie takes your heart and soul. This movie freezes your heart and wants you to cry, smile and cry again all at the same time, and above all almost screams at you about the horror of life in Medellin at the time which it presents. This film moved me to the core. Love story which might offend some people is gorgeous and true. An older gay guy falls in love with 18 years old street gay boy who desperately seeks love and security which he did not have all his young life. He can't step away from the habit which became his second nature, killing the guys like himself, young and lonely. In the movie killing becomes almost as understandable as breathing or eating and becomes part of love of the older guy to the beautiful Alexis. To my astonishment, all the killings all of the sudden became acceptable to spectators. I love this movie. I love the story. I love the plot of true feelings of the older guy toward his young lover and vice versa. Human spirit which emanates from this film is mesmerizing and almost blinding and the love is heartbreaking and beautiful.

Columbian Riff on the Death Drive

[kinaidos · 7/10 · 3 March 2004]

An aging writer and pederast returns to his birthplace, Medellin. As the film develops we discover that he feels bent on self-destruction as feels that he as finished with what it is he can do in life. His self-destructive urges are piqued by a love affair with a boy hit-man. He quickly loses his moral repugnance toward the boy's frequent murders, and a dark stoicism replaces it. Early in the film we see him crying at the memory of his deceased kin, but by the end of the film he faces the deaths of those he loves with coldness and detachment. There is a stark streak of misanthropy that runs though this film. It surfaces in the protagonists repeated complaints about excessive human breeding, but it goes beyond that to include a renunciation for his own worth and of any special value in those he loves. The despondency that first seemed to comprise questioning his own life's purpose reveals itself to be a renunciation of the game of treating any life as purposeful. The protagonist's self-destructive misanthropy and the self-destructive violence of Medellin society merge, or rather come to be seen as one in the same.

Sicarios Blues

[EdgarST · 3/10 · 26 July 2001]

Some people say that the problem with "La virgen de los sicarios" is the acting. I do not think so. Though the leading actor sometimes recites his lines, it seems appropriate for him, because he is playing a writer. His young companions seem to be natural actors without any training but that makes the film more convincing. What I believe is the movie's real problem is its script. It simply does not deliver. When one characters introduces himself in the first ten minutes of projection, saying that he has come back to this city to die... well, you expect something is going to happen to him in physical terms, because he is already dead from a spiritual point of view, from the very beginning. When his first friend dies and the writer goes to see his mother, the film goes down and never recovers. It goes in circles, introducing dreams and impressionistic images to no avail. I also did not like its use of music, which sounded like a rip-off of Bernard Herrmann's ominous scores. A very disappointing film. I would recommend instead Victor Gaviria's remarkable films "Rodrigo D: No futuro" and "La vendedora de rosas" if you want to see how Medellín really is. Gaviria is not only from Medellín, but he is a well known and excellent poet.

About the real life....

[root-14 · 27 December 2000]

Hi, I was reading about the comments of the movie "La virgen de los sicarios"... some people think that there is bad acting in this movie, and i am disagree absolutely... I live in Cali, Colombia and i can assure you that what you see in the film is exactly what you can see in the real live in some poor parts of the colombian cities... i am talking about everything: the way people talk, the way they move, all is very real... if you live in this country, you can understand that the actors in the movie are not acting... they are living!!! because that what you see in the movie is what we are in Colombia. Thanks for your attention.

Something is missing

[shaid · 7/10 · 2 February 2001]

The idea of showing Colombia through the eyes of 2 different characters,one is young the other is older,is good because it show us what happened to Colombia, however if the film has a message it is lost on me and during the screening I had the feeling that there is something missing. There is one character and one scene that, though seem important,go completely un-explained.

At the end I've been left with the feeling that it could have been better.

Don't turn this movie off

[zzzorf · 6/10 · 24 March 2018]

This movie had a very amateurish look to it. The acting was overly poor, the camera work was shocking and the effects were bad. The thing is it all worked in this movies favour.

Once you came to grips with all of the amateurishness you realise just how much it all fits in with the story being told. The longer I watched the more I forgot all the movie making sides of things and became more engrossed in what was actually happening.

You have to feel for the old man, his return home was not what he would have expected and possibly the hardest part of his life (I have no context however to compare it to). Though if I were him I would be getting out of Columbia straight away, hell if the opportunity arose for me to go there after seeing this I would definitely pass on the opportunity.

I recommend this to watch to whoever is interested just keep an open mind. Don't turn it off because it looks poor, that is part of its charm.

should be forced on all news spokesmen with Colombian corpses in the background

[mariaberrios_cl · 9/10 · 16 February 2002]

Prepared as we are for the image of Columbia that CNN shoves down our throats- full of Narcos, Paracos and desperate politicians-, there is no way to predict the surreal way of life the characters in this movie pass through. This is a film that penetrates into a very real Medellin, where nothing is certain and everything is so vulnerable that human life seems to exist only the instant in which it takes place. Medellin is like Fernando- the main character-, it is like his way of walking through a church in the feverishly catholic ambient of Latin America with his sixteen year old murderer lover- who is actually more like an angel fallen from grace. Alexis- the young shooter- is the result of a less than miserable way of life, where poverty and violence rape viciously at each other, almost to a point of neutralization, what seems perverse is in the end the most innocent. This film is strong and profound, it should be forced on all news spokesmen with Colombian corpses in the background: `Lady this is Medellin, not Switzerland'.

Pretty bad..

[Exiled_Archangel · 6/10 · 23 April 2003]

*** POSSIBLE SPOILERS! ***

First of all, everything is 100% amateur on this film. The picturing is absolutely dreadful. The camera guys do their job hardly any better than I would myself. It's like the frames are randomly put together sometimes. And the cast is not even carefully chosen. The writer is ok, the rest is absolutely horrible. The first gay gangster boy is a disaster. He simply can't act. When he's supposed to laugh, he doesn't laugh. Instead he smiles widely and says "hahaha". How exhilarating! I'm not really an expert on Colombia so I don't know if the situation is exaggerated, but even if it's not exaggerated it looks exaggerated and I don't like that. Also, how easy is it to find gay gangster boys on the streets like that? Are Colombian males all gay?!? I know 3 in my life, and they're all straight. So I wonder who prepared a ridiculuous screenplay like that. Apart from all, the plot is extremely simple. I'm close to thinking the film is made for the sole purpose of anti-religious propaganda (which I like, but it doesn't make the film good just because it matches my disbeliefs) instead of a movie with a conventional plot. Ok I have to say it's not quite boring, but you simply come across LOTS of MAJOR errors you have to ignore in order to enjoy the movie. It's hard for me to say this being a very anti-Hollywood cinema enthusiast, but I'm starting to think they should leave action films to Americans and keep working on drama. On the other hand, a film that reminds me of this one which takes place in a neighbouring country - Ecuador, was absolutely fascinating. Ratas, Ratones, Rateros. That one was a billion times better than this. Watch La Virgen De Los Sicarios only if your planned trip to Colombia got canceled and if you're so sad about it that you'd like to get to know the country a little through a movie. If you watch it and think it's almost alright but something's missing and you just don't know what, go watch "Ratas, Ratones, Rateros" instead. But this very one gets only 6/10 from me, generously.

Daring, this movie's got cajones!

[wotamovie1 · 10/10 · 1 November 2005]

I'll put in my 2 cents on this flick for what its worth, not that it matters much but it is interesting to see the wide extremes of opinions here. I'm quite oblivious to the situation in Colombia today. I've heard about the casual violence and the kidnappings through news media. As an outsider, I found the film to be some sort of a modern masterpiece. The use of digital video was odd but I felt somewhat closer to the locale. The screenplay was incisive, witty and at the same time displayed the depths of the human condition. Some have noted that the acting of the young boys to be bad and unrealistic. True, they are not thespians by trade but I thought they displayed their reactions and emotions toward the writer very well. If I was in their shoes I would have been taken in by this writer as well. Why not? He is providing me with what I need and at the same time showing me the compassion and wisdom that is lacking around me. I believe wholeheartedly that this is Mr. Schroeder's most personal work. Why else would one risk his life filming it in Colombia? I've seen some of his other works and none come close to this. The irony of this film is that the cinematography shows Colombia to be beautiful beyond words. It makes me want to visit. Maybe I'll be like the writer in the film and go there to die after I have done everything I wanted to in my life. This is an excellent companion piece to 'Maria Full of Grace.' Both films are two of the best to come out of this decade.

Vicious circles of violence

[Zetepeet · 6/10 · 8 February 2001]

Shot in the most violent city on earth, this film succeeds in confronting the viewer with his attitude towards violence in a truly mesmerising way. Both the viewer and the main character, in their own ways, try to make sense of what occurs and it is very tempting to follow the main character's logic, though you're never quite sure whether this is the 'correct' thing to do. The film is not just clever and confronting on an intellectual level; it is also a very moving, though simple, tale about love, loss and revenge.

Boring, pointless, full of cliches, complete waste of time

[fantomas-5 · 3/10 · 10 September 2001]

Most of the time the movie follows pattern: childhood memory, philosophy, murder. It gets boring almost immediately. Everything that the main character says is a cliche. His reactions are unnatural - he gets surprised every time his lovers kill someone, even though that's all they do. The movie fails to make any point or to entertain. Its trailer was dozen times better than the movie itself.

9/10

[desperateliving · 9/10 · 10 March 2005]

This is one of those movies that you're wary about, because the criticisms are so obvious. Yet I think this is something close to a minor masterpiece. This is quite rich material -- very literary, in a way -- and the invoking of Catholicism (and, for me, Genet) through the title is apt, for the way it delves into accepted perversions. At first I was wondering what the much-discussed shocking aspect of the film was, thinking perhaps it was the (would-be) sensuousness of this Latin boy-lover (the shared drink is not something you'd get in common fare), but it seems like it's more the violence that people react (or object) to. While it didn't upset me, I think the violence is interesting in two ways: one, the digital video makes the dispassionate killings have little impact, because it makes the film seem somewhat amateurish (with aid of the acting), like a genre film made on a shoestring budget; and two, the film as a whole is anti-dramatic -- for instance, when the revelation occurs, in a dramatized film it would be devastating: the truth of your lover revealed, and the swirl of emotions it creates; here, nothing -- so there is no cathartic violence (as in "The Godfather," for example), and it isn't lush. But it isn't brutal, either -- you don't get your nose rubbed in it, and I cherished that generosity to the audience.

The digital also helps keep the film grounded -- the only really attention-grabbing aspects of the film, as cinema, are the opening and closing framing of very beautiful music, and one nice over-the-wall camera move. It's like a cleverer "Man Bites Dog," in the sense that this *doesn't* draw attention to itself, that there is no winking or overt displays of cleverness. The film as a whole is subtle (at one point it feels like magic realism, even though we are told, I guess, that it's not), even though individual scenes are not (that the euthanizing of the dog is the only killing that has feeling is very heavy-handed). It's also incredibly easy to watch, and I think that must be due in part because the digital -- clear, crisp, and clean, with a smooth lucidity -- helps you seep into the film quicker, without any fuss. Indeed, without any film atmosphere at all. 9/10

Pathetic

[hueveo · 1/10 · 22 September 2002]

Terrible. As a film student, I've seen better films by first year classmates with Hi-8 camcorders than this crap. Overacting, bad scripting, horrible camera work, and amateur lighting this movie has it all. Not to mention the terrible casting. Honestly, i understand that people might enjoy seeing a hard and provocative story, but this film is a joke.

A realistic and subversive film

[eroka · 21 July 2001]

I saw the film at the Jerusalem Film Festival. It was a rather late screening, but the viewers were glued to their seats. It's a very gripping movie and extremely subversive in themes, language and visuals. It's very anti current-day Colombia, and no wonder the production didn't go very smoothly. Still I admire the support the film got from `official' institutions in Medellion. It's subversive in themes, because we basically have a gay couple, an older man (about 40-50) who indulges in having sex with minor boys (who do this willingly, and yet, it's rather shocking to the average viewer) in return for financial support, or rather indulging the boys in whatever they want to do. The couple goes around the city and is critical of every facet of the city – and rightly so – yet the tone is overtly cynical and `evil'. The lead boy, Alexis, goes around and kills whomever is threatening him and his sugar-daddy – I think he executed 4 people once a confrontation was about to happen, and 4 more were other kids who were after him. S this shooting spree is depicted in a somewhat accepting manner, as if this is the way to do these things in Colombia. They ridicule almost every aspect of life – church, police, government, the drug lords, poor and beggars, the bourgeoisie, other gays, and even themselves. In that respect, it's a very Pasolini movie, although the realism here is a real one and not made for the sake of a socialist agenda. The writer and his two boy-lovers are very lost, although they always know where they are, and the ending is pretty bad, as expected. The film shows no hope for the Colombian people, as they are stuck in a country ran by corrupt officials, gangs and drug lords. The writer has great lines, one of my favorite was about him hating people who whistle, because they shouldn't try and imitate the art that was given to the birds… A good movie, with a 7/10 as far as I can say. Acting-wise – since I don't speak Spanish, it was credible to my ears, though the boys did seem to quote their lines mechanically at times.