Dance of the 41

Excelent film, but to say this is the "true history" is a slight exaggeration, there being very little documentation (and that skewered by the journalism of the era) about the event or the supposed "club of 42". While the incident was and is well remembered here in Mexico, how much is the "real truth" and how much is speculation (we don't know that Ignancio de la Torre was actually at the dance, although his sexuality was well established... fun fact, because Emilio Zapata was one of de la Torre's more important employees -- his horse trainer -- Zapata was "smeared" by his opponents as an allegedly gay man). That de la Torre was a self-indulgent elitist snob and oppresive member of the Mexican "one percent"... as were the other 41... had the unfortunate side effect of perpetuating the stereotype of gay men as a bunch of rich cross-dressing hedonists.

A good cast and talented designers are left out to dry by incompetent direction and especially screenwriting. The characters are inconsistent and have no development arc. The understanding of social roles in history is abandoned for nonsensical melodrama. The most centred sex scenes are heterosexual, and queer love is left as a strangely posed affair in long shots.

An interesting film. I'm left wondering how true it was to the real story upon which it was based.

I found some of the portrayals of gay men rather cliché. And while the gay men in the film had my sympathy, I couldn't help feeling equally sorry for all the women who've suffered as beards through the Ages. Used. Deceived. Unloved. Betrayed. Wasted on men that didn't really want to be married to them.

This film left me confused & sad. I'm grateful that in my lifetime many countries have legalized gay marriage.

"El baile de los 41" is a great film based on true events, a great love story about two men and their gay friends, a tale about homophobia and some events that still happen in this days, closeted gay men married with ladies. The production is amazing, the cinematography and filming locations are beautiful, the music score is wonderful, the performances are great, mainly Alfonso Herrera, Emiliano Zurita and Mabel Cadena and the direction is really good. A modern gay classic movie based on sad true events! The best Mexican film of the 2020!

It's not often I sit through the credits at the end of a film. Usually I'm up and out of the armchair to make a cup of tea or whatever. This film was different and the ending was mundane but devastating for the viewer and the main male character.

The film is a heavily fictionalised version of a real event, that of a police raid on a party held by high society homosexuals. Ignacio de la Torre, the son-in-law of the then President, was meant to have been one of the participants. This much is known to history and from IMDB's résumé. From these bare bones, a whole film is woven as a prelude to the raid.

Ignacio holds a high position in society partly through his own wealth and partly through the patronage of his wife's father. Some things about his true life are known, that he and his wife led separate lives, for example, and were only together in public; in private they occupied different wings of their mansion. From this gossamer thread a love story emerges that may not even be true - we cannot be sure that Evaristo Rivas had a relationship with Ignacio or was even present when the ball was busted as the names of the participants were withheld. It doesn't matter. A whole, tender story of forbidden love is recounted by the film, a love that is unacknowledgeable in Mexican society at the time.

The film doesn't hold back. It shows the horror of a gay man trying to sleep with his wife. It shows the hatred that slowly grows out of resentment on both sides of a chaste marriage. It shows how happiness can be shattered in an instant by bigotry and ignorance.

The two male leads were stupendous and didn't skimp their roles. Those kisses were real. Their glances, their interaction, their physical moments together were the opposite of contrived. Mabel Cadena playing Amada, Ignacio's wife, visibly aged during her time of calvary. Her face and bearing changed convincingly from those of a pretty young bride to those of a bitter and spurned woman.

The sets and costumes were magnificent. I actually wondered if some of the scenes were filmed in real buildings, so convincing were the locations. The minor characters, even, were somewhat fleshed out rather than simply being drivers of the plot.

I loved this film and would recommend it.