Nosotros los pobres (1948) User Reviews (7)

Mexican melodrama

[F Gwynplaine MacIntyre · 7/10 · 18 March 2004]

'We the Poor' is a somewhat overwrought drama by Ismael Rodríguez, a Mexican director whose films often deal with social injustice and economic hardship.

The hero of this story is José, nicknamed 'Pepe the Bull', although he looks more like Keenan Wynn than any sort of livestock. Pepe is a Mexican working stiff: the sole support of his family, including his young daughter Chachita and his paralysed mother, who can't speak or move but who can roll her eyes. Ay caramba, can this woman roll her eyes!

Pepe works hard, but the family are just barely getting by. (They live in what appears to be a slum neighbourhood, although it's extremely clean.) One day the caretaker walks in and helps himself to the rent money, which Pepe has stashed in a hole in the wall behind a photograph. The only witness to the theft is Pepe's mother. Being paralytic, she can't cry out during the robbery, and afterwards she can't tell Pepe who stole the money. But she sure can roll her eyes, while the camera zooms in for a close-up. (It utterly beggars belief that Pepe and Chachita haven't worked out some means of communication with his mother, such as teaching her to blink in Morse code. Even the Bowery Boys were able to figure out that one.)

Now Pepe can't pay the rent, and pretty soon along comes a Mexican rent-collector (Sancho the Bailiff?) to evict his family. There's a truly ludicrous scene in which the removal men take away *every* ornament and stick of furniture from Pepe's house. Then they come back and dump his mother on the floor, so they can take her wheelchair. They put the wheelchair in the lorry, then they come back again and take Chachita's doll. Buenos hombres! Meanwhile, Pepe is in el juzgado ('the hoosegow') because he's been framed for someone else's crime.

Despite the soap-opera plot line and some very obtrusive background music, there's much in this film that impressed me. There's an excellent montage sequence, in which the caretaker is plagued by guilt for his theft. (But not enough to give back the money.) He keeps seeing pairs of circular objects (two brass hoops in a bedframe, two saucepans on the wall) and imagining them as Pepe's mother's eyes, staring at him remorselessly. One montage shot in this sequence seems to have been inspired by a similar shot in Fritz Lang's 'Metropolis'. (Always steal from the best.)

Some of the frame compositions in the prison sequences are extremely impressive. I started to laugh at the striped uniforms on the prison inmates, which reminded me of pyjamas, or the striped clothes worn by convicts in old Three Stooges movies. But apparently prison inmates in Mexico in the 1940s did indeed wear such uniforms. I had some trouble following the dialogue: many of the characters in this movie use slang expressions that were very up-to-date for urban Mexicans in 1948, but which are inaccessible to Spanish speakers from non-Mexican cultures. A Mexicana friend who watched this film with me (and who was born well after it was made) told me that she couldn't understand most of the slang.

There are some truly ludicrous soap-opera plot contrivances in this movie. Eventually we learn that Pepe's relationship with his daughter Chachita is not what it seems. Some of the twists in this movie are quite implausible. But it's extremely well-made, and the visuals are impressive throughout the film. I doubt that 'Nosotros los Pobres' is an accurate depiction of life in Mexico in 1948, but plenty of Hollywood movies are equally inaccurate in their depiction of life north of the border. This movie is highly entertaining, and I'll rate it 7 points out of 10.

The film most people saw in all movie history in México

[geragmx37 · 8/10 · 15 April 2007]

Nosotros Los Pobres (We, The Poor), the first of a successful trilogy. Ismael Rodrigues, the director mentioned, even in the original trailer, that Ustedes Los Ricos, wasn't a "second part", a sequel, but a continuation of a poor carpenter saga of life. Nosotros Los Pobres it's maybe the film more people watched over the years since 1948. Too many people cry and laughed with this film. Too many people sing along the song Amorcito Corazón (Manuel Esperón and Pedro De Urdemalas) that has become an iconic symbol of that film. We will always remember the scene when Pepe struggles to make the real assassin confess the murder of the usurer woman. Full of drama, violence and songs, Ismael's film endure the strokes of time and will live forever in hearts and minds of millions of Mexican peoples.

Viva Evita

[zorrito1953 · 9/10 · 21 July 2013]

First of all, let me start by stating that this movie has a stellar performance by 11 or 12 year old Evita Muñoz, known as Chachita. I am very surprised Evita did not win an Ariel for her character performance! Her cries and emotions are very surreal.

(SPOILER) Chachita is not the daughter of Pepe El Toro (Pedro Infante), but rather his niece, which is not revealed until late in the movie. Pepe raises Chachita as his own daughter hiding the knowledge of her real mother because Chachita was born from prostitution.

Somehow, this dark aspect caused Chachita's grandmother to become paralyzed. The setting takes place in "La Miseria" suburb of Mexico City. The dialogs are peppered with Mexican idioms. Chachita, though a child, runs the household taking care of her grandmother and Pepe. She manages Pepe's business finances. Chachita is also very jealous of any woman coming between Pepe and her.

The supporting cast play a key role in rounding out the setting. La Tostada and La Guayaba drunken performances made me laugh. La Romantica's pot-head step-father shows that there is hypocrisy anywhere and everywhere. There is a neighborhood cop that actually does take care of his jurisdiction with compassion. All in all, a very well done movie.

The most famous film in Mexico

[nick-1001 · 23 July 2005]

Starred the great Pedro Infante and created the archetype "Pepe el Toro", the urban working class hero. It was an attempt to depict and dignify with some degree of reality the working class poor of Mexico City, several years before the more sophisticated (and pessimistic) Los Ovidados was made. Featured the young Katy Jurado as the neighborhood tramp and Carmen Montejo as the dying sister. Co-star Blanca Estela Pavón was killed shortly after filming the sequel "Ustedes los Ricos", and Evita Muñoz, the little girl, is still known today as "Chachita", her name in the movie. This is the best known and beloved film in all of Mexican cinema, not unlike "It's A Wonderful Life" is in the USA. A film that while melodramatic, holds up today and is artfully done, and must be viewed with an understanding of its social context.

Sum of all mexican dreams

[elguerreroz · 10/10 · 19 April 2004]

I cant see why a movie so popular and important have so few reviews. Important, because it's hard to find in Mexico a people that has not seen yet, because his dialogues and his songs are part of cotidian talk, and everyone have had sometimes friends nicknamed with the figures that poblate this film (the first of a extraordinary trilogy of a wise director with a notably smell for success) Well, if you think that this popular trilogy was one of George Lucas, you are wrong. This one is the creation of Ismael Rodrìguez, that made a trilogy of films that, even that more than 50 years have passed, it's still one of those monumental hits of popular culture in Mèxico (maybe in Latinoamerica), and one of those reference points for a history in our colective dreams. We have here a Great Melodrama, with the most charismatic characters surrounding the great Pepe el Toro, (who else could be than Pedro Infante)the noble carpenter, around him are his daughter Chachita, his girlfriend La Chorreada, and unbelievable secundary characters all of them living in a world of adversities. Is a picture so sharp written and well acted that you have see to believe, the narrative is dense and barroque, you pass in matter of seconds of the most sweet tender to extreme violence to romance to suspense to unforgettable musical moments to (if you like it) a very little moment of gore (Just check the fight in the jail and you'll jump) and so and so. Very wise crafted ( I imagine that Ismael Rodrìguez could with tranquility predict the great success of it) that most people forgive all the flaws that have. Of course, is one of the most attacked mexican pictures by the rigurous critics, i should say, maybe by the fact that tends to make idilious and romantic the cruel cuestion of poverty, maybe because all the efectism in the narrative. They are right, of course, but this picture surpass all of this, in fact this is a film of stereotypes, the urban and legendary stereotypes (you just cannot imagine the enormous figure of Pedro Infante without separate him of Pepe el Toro) and in this sense i think, will be hard to imagine other film like that (I know, times are very diferent) but in the deep skin of Mèxico, one or two times at day everyone whistles like Pepe el Toro, the song "Amorcito Corazòn". I have it for sure. Ten of ten stars, of course.

P.D. You should check too "Ustedes los Ricos" , the second of the trilogy, superb like this one.

distilled essence of melodrama

[worleythom · 6/10 · 19 March 2015]

Nosotros los Pobres. Pedro Infante. 1948.

11-year-old Evita Muñoz 'Chachita' cries and screams her way through calamity after indignity after injustice.

It's an astounding exemplar of melodrama: a consummately well-done show of a type I wouldn't usually seek out.

The end is worthy of Shakespearean tragedy. (That's _not_ a compliment.)

Contains two well-sung songs, Las Mañanitas and Amorcito Corazón.

The titles at the beginning are shown as if in a book a couple kids found. What the kids do with the book at the end is worth one star.

6/10. This first installment is much the best one. (I give film 2, Ustedes los Ricos, 4/10.)

I don't get it...

[planktonrules · 5/10 · 3 July 2009]

From the reviews, mostly from people living in Mexico, this film is a classic--something that many people love. However, not being from Mexico, I never heard of the film and didn't have any particular expectations. I love international films, so I think I was reasonably willing and ready to like it. However, by the time it was finished, I just felt like I didn't get it--I didn't understand this nostalgic attitude towards the film.

NOSOTROS, LOS POBRES ("We the Poor") is very soap opera in style and mood--more so than any film I've seen in recent memory other than some early silent films. And, because of this, it is far from subtle and is extremely melodramatic. So melodramatic, in fact, that some might think it goes overboard. In fact, I think this is the main problem. I didn't dislike the film but I certainly didn't appreciate its style--it all came off as forced and rather fake.

The film is set in a poor neighborhood in Mexico. However, although a couple old drunks are very dirty, I would agree with the other comment that this barrio is rather sanitized--sort of like the way Hollywood portrayed the poor in older films. There certainly are lots of characters there, but they remind me a lot of the street denizens of films such as DEAD END. I do appreciate, though, how some in this poor neighborhood are good people and some are quite evil--it's not a purely black & white world.

The story revolves around a father (Pepe el Toro) and his daughter (Chachita). They are poor but happy together. However, Chachita is obsessed with the memory of her mother. Supposedly she died when Chachita was an infant, though as the film progresses you see that the father is hiding some secret. Who is Chachita's mom and what happened to her? She certainly is NOT buried in the grave that Pepe said was hers. To make matters worse, two old drunks (who are probably the worst actresses in the film) are shooting off their mouths that Pepe killed his wife, so the child naturally assumes the worst. At the same time, conversely, Chachita is very jealous of her father and resents the attention eligible women pay him. In psychological terms, she's got one heck of an Electra Complex!

When a strange woman begins showing up, it's obvious that Pepe hates her and that she has wronged him. It's natural to assume that this might just be Pepe's wife--and she isn't dead after all. But you, of course, would not be right! This is his sister and she's apparently responsible for the grandmother's paralysis.

In addition, about halfway through the film, Pepe is really, really screwed. First, a scummy neighbor steals the money a lawyer gave him to do some carpentry. Second, he's accused of murder and goes to prison! Wow, does life turn out horribly for Pepe...but wait!! It gets worse! Now, the jerk lawyer has thugs go to Pepe's home and take everything--everything, including his paralyzed mother's wheelchair!! This scene is touching but also a bit over the top and hard to believe. So, Pepe's in prison and Chachita and Mama are stuck living in an empty home with no money whatsoever! Can it get worse? Will some miracle occur and everything work out nearly perfectly? Will Chachita finally meet her mother? Tune in and find out for yourself (though be forewarned--the resolution is very, very, very quick and hard to believe).

The story is punctuated at times with songs. While some of the reviewers give the film 10, I can't see this because the music is so obviously prerecorded. They really didn't do a good job with the sound as every time they sing, it sounds like they are singing into a tin can. However, I must add that the guy who plays Pepe has a particularly nice singing voice despite this. The little mariachi band also is quite nice.

By the way, I watched the film with English captions. The quality of the translation was only fair to good--with some grammatical errors and a few translations that weren't quite on the mark. Still, you can't fault the film makers for this, as it was added years later by a third party.

Overall, it was interesting but terribly old fashioned and hard to believe.