Night Buffalo [DVD] [2007] [Region 1] [US Import] [NTSC]

So I have heard "The Night Buffalo" described as a disaster in terms of recent Mexican cinema. I understand that many viewers loath and revile this picture--so, while I'm not exactly going to buck the trend, I will emphatically proclaim that I've seen much worse. There are elements of a good film at work here--the premise is interesting and, quite frankly, the performances are solid (if occasionally underdeveloped). My main issue with "The Night Buffalo" comes with the expectations that I may have had upon initial viewing. The screenplay and book on which "The Night Buffalo" was based was penned by the esteemed Guillermo Arriaga. Don't know who that is? Among other works, he has four screenplays of some note--"Amores Perros," "21 Grams," "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada,' and the Oscar nominated "Babel." While those films have their detractors, I personally thought each was quite successful largely based on Arriaga's work.

"The Night Buffalo" lacks the intricacies of Arriaga's most intriguingly layered writing. If anything, it recalls the somber and very quiet tone of "Three Burials." But that film was a bleak western of isolation, desolation, and barrenness--its stoic lead was intrinsic to this rough tale of retribution. "The Night Buffalo" uses Diego Luna as an equally introspective protagonist, but in this emotion charged story--I'm not sure aloofness is the way to go! When his best friend, who is schizophrenic, kills himself--Luna must come to grips with what he feels is his responsibility in the matter. Luna is shacked up with his friend's ex-girlfriend and had a fling with his younger sister. So he searches for meaning in the death which causes him to start investigating various aspects of his friend's life that are ultimately linked to the shared girlfriend.

The metaphorical title is one element to the ambiguous story of darkness and a vision that haunted his friend. The meandering film really doesn't go very far and doesn't resolve very much. However, I do think "The Night Buffalo" perfectly illustrates the guilt and emptiness that Luna feels--which manifests itself in many sex scenes (the most talked about part of the film--with plenty of full frontal nudity by everyone). I'm not sure why everyone is so willing to bed Luna as his genuinely morose demeanor might be a bit of a downer in bed, but who am I to say? More effective at establishing a mood than following through with a story, "The Night Buffalo" is still an interesting failure. Not as bad as some would have you believe--but not at the level of his most sophisticated and successful films. About 2 1/2 stars. KGHarris, 10/10.

If you are looking for soft porn, and very little dialogue than this is the movie for you. Great bodies, and some kind of actions if that works for you. For those that actually look for a complex or some what of a complex... or better yet and type of story line... than this is not for you.

I just have to agree with the majority of the reviews here: One of the worst movies I have watched. I thought that all of the other films I have seen that were based on Arriaga's screenplays--Amores Perros, 21 Grams, Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, Babel, The Burning Plain--were very good, some excellent, and all genuinely thought provoking, so I was really looking forward to this one. No such luck. As others observed, there was too much sex and it was pointless. The story was threadbare--whether Arriaga's own screenplay or the inadequate realization by the director is to blame, I have no idea--but, what was most maddening, there were enough little elements promising more than was delivered to make this film especially disappointing.

Unless you are writing a thesis on Arriaga and are obligated to see everything that has his signature, don't waste your time on this one.