Bandidas

Rating: out of
Released: 2006
Directed by: Joachim Roenning
Cast: Salma Hayek, Penelope Cruz, Steve Zahn, Dwight Yoakam, Sam Shepard

With all the talk (even from myself) about how Fox buried Mike Judge’s IDOCRACY, has anyone out there heard of the film BANDIDAS?

Also a Fox release, I hadn’t heard a single thing about this film, until I saw it on the new release DVD lists. Then, it showed up in all the retail circulars, and many DVD discussion sites were carrying banner ads for it.

What is it? And how could I have missed it?

Well, it is a Western, set in Mexico, starring Salma Hayek and Penelope Cruz. They team up to start robbing banks after an evil American (Dwight Yoakam) takes over the bank and kills their fathers. Steve Zahn plays a bank examiner who helps them, and Sam Shepard trains them to rob banks.

It is a pretty nothing film. Can’t recommend it.

It is also surprisingly anti-Amercian. I don’t mean that in a Bill O’Reilly, let’s boycott this way. But all the Americans are bad guys, and there is a line about how Americans are always rewriting laws. Just kind of surprising that this lightweight film would have such a message. Could have something to do with why Fox didn’t release it.

But I had to find out how it got made and what happened to it, so I looked at the extras.

And then it all made sense.

The commentary track features Hayek and Cruz, both doing their first commentaries ever. Apparently, they are best friends in real life (Cruz was talking about this fact on Letterman last night). They wanted to work together so they got their friend Luc Besson (yes, really) to write and produce a Western for them.

Cruz was making SAHARA with Steve Zahn so, when Besson gave her ths script, she gave Zahn the script to read and he signed on. Besson then recruited Joachim Roenning and Espen Sanberg, two commercial directors from Norway, to direct the film.

So, you have Americans, Spanish, Mexican, Norwegians, and French all teaming for the same film. With all the different languages, no wonder it is a mess.

If you are a diehard Salma or Penelope fan, it might be worth seeing. But that is the only audience for it. Otherwise, just rent ASK THE DUST, or see VOLVER, or rewatch BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID.

Reviewed by: Jim Magovern

Jan 20,2007