One of the numerous legends that exist in Mexico is 'The Tiger of Santa Julia'. This was a man that lived in a town called Santa Julia, a town that would later become part of the enormous Mexico City by the second half of the 20th century. Tired of army and police corruption, "El Tigre" took justice into his own hands. However the most popular fact known about him is the way he got caught. Confusion and popular gossip mixed the real facts surrounding this person with fantasy, and thus "El Tigre" became a living legend.
Director Alejandro Gamboa tried to capture exactly this in this movie. He tells his version of the real story behind Jose de Jesus Negrete, El tigre de Santa Julia. More than half of the movie looks fake, with many live colors, exagerated blue skies filled with the whitest clouds and an overdone narration of the story. Although Gamboa said in a radio interview that this was done intentionally, the result is not that visually pleasant.
Aside from that, the movie is a lot of fun to watch. The comedy is well paced and is mixed up with robberies, sex and vengeance. The performances are sufficiently good for the movie to work.
"El Tigre de Santa Julia" is not by far the best mexican movie ever, but it's fun and sometimes that's what movies are all about.
