Note: I am about to review the 71 min. version of the film, this version was edited for TV, so it's likely that it has some scenes missing, which may cause damage to the films pacing or story, so until there's another version that I can see, this is what I am reviewing.
"Apuesta Contra La Muerte" also known as "Apuesta Con La Muerte" it's a mexploitation film about a young man named Juan, who tries to get away from his dysfunctional family, a father who lives in mediocrity, and an alcoholic mother, so he moves to live with his best friend since school, Mario, a rich boy who lives a life of excess and sleaze, at first, things go well for Juan and Mario, but he will soon find out just how reckless his friend is, and that he will be stuck in a life of crime and danger.
The film it's directed by Ismael Rodríguez Jr. the very talented son of legendary filmmaker Ismael Rodríguez, his father always said that what really matters in a film it's the story, if you don't have a good story to hold your film, everything else will fall apart, and it looks like his son listened to him because in everyone of his films you find yourself engaged and invested, and this film it's no exception.
For whatever flaws that this film may have, it seems pretty clear that it has a very good script, as you will find the characters to be very likable and you will also understand their frustrations and their motives, when the film starts you think you will be able to tell the spirit of the film, a basic melodrama with a few sleaze scenes, but as the film goes on, you realize that you are actually invested in the film, not many exploitation films do that, as the movie goes on, it get's darker and ends with a very depressing ending that may not be very well executed but it's still quite interesting.
The acting in this film by our two main leads it's quite good, Juan (played by Edgardo Gazcón) it's quite a generous character who is just trying to get away from the troubles in his family, he is pushed to the limit by his friend, Mario (played by Sebastian Ligardo) who is always getting them in trouble, whether it is by playing Russian roulette with another man, racing in the opposite side of the freeway, or beating and abusing "his" women.
The great Mario Almada is in this film, he doesn't really do much, he's just a father who wants his wife to stop drinking, he's average here, there isn't much to say about his performance, but it's nice to see him here, Lorena Velázquez does a good job at incarnating a lonely woman who becomes an alcoholic, she does a really good performance.
This is a film about consequences, about how everything that you do in life affects someone else's life, whether it is in a good way or a bad way, it will affect someone, we see the concerned parents of the boy who dies in the Russian roulette bet, in one scene, Mario breaks the camera of a photographer in prison, and we see the aftermath of his actions, in a very intense scene, that leads to the climax, Juan's girlfriend says to a taxi driver "if you don't hurry, many peoples lives will be affected" (it doesn't sound as absurd in the film, it's actually quite compelling) that makes the movie more interesting as opposed to just showing violence on the screen, a very subtle script from the three writers of the film.
Overall, I am willing to recommend the film if you can look past a few clunky scenes or an awkward ending, it's quite good for what it is.
