Oedipus Mayor (1996)

This violent, steamy update of Sophocles’s classic tale of patricide and incest was cowritten by Nobel Prize-winner Gabriel Garcia Marquez.Set in modern-day Columbia, the drama revolves around a local mayor who is sent to a small town in the Andes to negotiate peace among guerrilla revolutionaries, paramilitary groups, peasants, and the Columbian army. A torrid romance with the prickly widow of a war lord begins the young man’s downfall. Stunning cinematography of the lush Columbian landscape by acclaimed cinematographer Rodrigo Prieto (Brokeback Mountain; Babel) adds a sultry atmosphere.

Ancient Greece Meets Modern Colombia

This is another example of taking an older tale and giving it a modern backdrop. In Brazil, they made "Orpheus." George Clooney remade the Odyssey (or was it the Iliad?) in "O Brother, Where Art Thou?" Alicia Silverstone's "Clueless" is an update of a Jane Austen work. I recently read on an Internet encyclopedia that Ahnuld's "Predator" had elements of "Beowulf" in it. We Black folk poured some chocolate on "The Wizard of Oz" and made "The Wiz." So if you know the facts behind Oedipus Rex, then you will know the plot of this.
That last sentence was not meant to dissuade. You should see this film. In the way that "Tango," "Imagining Argentina," and possibly other works illustrate the devastating "disappearances" that happened in Argentina, this work illustrates the violence and paramilitary chaos that has happened in Colombia. By the way, Jorge Perugorria has gotten hotter since his younger days from "Fresa y chocolate."
For those who don't know the story of Oedipus Rex, you are in for a surprise like in "The Crying Game" or "The Others." If you find that you like the surprise at the end of the film, you may want to also see "Oldboy," "Lone Star," or "Angels and Insects." March 28, 2008

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