Those of us who come from or have lived in developing nations know that people who have limited resources will often find ways to survive through strangely lucrative and inventive means. The same goes for those have been forgotten by governments or rendered irrelevant by changing economies. This super dark, expertly performed, and well-written comedy short from Mexico is a testament to the streetwise entrepreneurial spirit.
In La mina de oro, Betina is a middle-aged woman caught up in a passionate web-based love affair. When her paramour presents her with a marriage proposal via chat, Betina is moved to quit her job, sell her apartment, and buy a one-way bus ticket to the remote town he lives in. Once there, as any seasoned film watcher can surmise, she finds her expectations upended by an unfortunate twist of fate. Skilled Mexican actress Paloma Woolrich plays Betina, and she is joined by the delightfully macabre Cristina Michaus. Alfonso Dosal makes for a lusty field hand.
This dark comedy was written and directed by Mexico City-based filmmaker Jacques Bonnavent. A graduate of UNAM, where Bonnavent studied theater, La mina de oro was his first and (to date) only film. Fortunately for us, Bonnavent spreads his talents across radio, theater, and television. The story for La mina is based on the real life Internet dalliances of one of Bonnavent’s aunts. The film has gone on to win over 30 festival prizes worldwide, and it is most certainly worth your short attention span. Unfortunately for those monolinguals among us, this version does not contain English subtitles.