We the Poor

Pepe El Toro works as a carpenter in a neighbourhood of Mexico City. He lives with his daughter Chachita and the neighbours share the same yard. Nobody has money; everything is bought on credit and everyone carries everyone else. Pepe's mother is paralysed and cannot speak. Chachita does not know who her real mother is. Pepe loves his neighbour Celia. Then there is a killing and the blame falls on Pepe. He goes to prison. While he is inside things get worse outside, and the neighbourhood meets a fire. Ismael Rodríguez directs. Pedro Infante plays Pepe and Evita Muñoz plays Chachita; Blanca Estela Pavón and Carmen Montejo are in the cast. It is a Mexican production, made in 1948. The film was among the most watched productions of the golden age of Mexican cinema. Two sequels followed and the three make a trilogy. Pedro Infante became a popular hero in Mexico through the part. The matter it treats is poverty; the film uses it as material for drama and idealises the neighbourhood. The narrative uses the melodrama shape to the full; the misfortunes pile up. There are songs in it and they continue the speech inside the narrative. The narrative carries comic passages too and the register changes quickly. Its limit is age; the narrative is overblown, the emotional dose very high, and the characters conventional. Who it is for: viewers who like the golden age of Mexican cinema and melodrama. Who it is not for: it is old, overblown, and the ending heavy.