Herod’s Law (1999)

• Year: 1999
• Released: 18 Feb 2000
• Country: Mexico
• Adwords: 21 wins & 8 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0221344/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/herods_law
• Metacritics:
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: Spanish, English, Nahuatl
• MPA Rating: R
• Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama
• Runtime: 123 min
• Writer: Luis Estrada, Vicente Leñero, Fernando Javier León Rodríguez
• Director: Luis Estrada
• Cast: Damián Alcázar, Pedro Armendáriz Jr., Delia Casanova
• Keywords: corruption, political party, politics, mayor, 1940s,

	7.8/10
	64/100

Herod’s Law Storyline

A hilarious attack on the ruling party (the PRI, previously known as PNR and PRM) in 1949, during the reign of President Miguel Alemán (1946-1952) and filmed in sepia tones reminiscent of that area. So harsh, in fact, that the government of Mexico — still in the hands of the PRI in 1999 — successfully blocked release for some time.The people of a village, where few residents speak Spanish and the school is in ruins, kill the local mayor. The state governor (Pedro Almendáriz) looks for a satisfactory replacement and chooses a garbage collector from another town, Juan Vargas (Damián Alcázar), simply because he is known to be a loyal party member. Vargas takes the job seriously, but a local madam, Doña Lupe (Isela Vargas) and a corrupt priest soon teach him that “anything goes in politics” and Vargas is soon inventing laws and taxes of his own.There are many authentic touches. Vargas car is an antique Packard — the traditional status car of Mexican politicians during the thirties and forties. The name of the village, de los Aguados, means thin, watered down, melted. The only educated man is the local doctor, who is a member of the PAN (Partido de Acción Nacional) which now governs much of northern México and holded the presidency from 2000 to 2012.The ending is a bitter surprise which gives real meaning to the title, “La Ley de Herodes” which is defined in the film as “o te chingas o te jodes” which might be loosely translated as “you get fucked or you get screwed”.

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Herod’s Law Movie Reviews

Funny portrait of Mexico

A great film! Captures the essence of Mexico’s political life, with a lot of humor and a great story. It’s also a very well made… the story is perfectly constructed, the photography is beautiful and the acting is top of the line, with Demian Alcazar and Pedro Armendariz, Jr. clearly stealing the show. For Mexicans it should be a rather bittersweet experience… you can’t help but laugh at the situation, but it’s also so real that you can feel a little frustrated with your government. Filmed almost entirely in brown and sepia tones, to make it as close to ‘black and white’ as possible.

Outstanding political satire

An excellent hidden gem from writer/director Luis Estrada that won over 20 awards.

The Mayor of San Pedro loses his head while trying to abscond with the town’s money, so the party puts in a figurehead (Damián , – Crónicas, The Crime of Father Amaro) until the elections.

Soon, he figures out the way of politics and is enjoying the benefits – and they are hot benefits! Soon, he is killing his enemies and extorting money like the rest of them. Of course, he manages to rise through his evil as all politicians do.

Alcázar was outstanding in this political satire, as was Salvador Sánchez, Guillermo Gil, and Isela Vega.

Strong but very funny

A perfect and abundantly Mexican version of Lord Acton’s dictum, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” In 1949 a local official of the ruling PRI (Pedro Armendariz as López) chooses a humble janitor (Damián Alcázar, as Juan Vargas) to be presidente municipal (“mayor”) of a dusty, dirty little village in northern México. Vargas’ is supposed to bring “modernity and social justice” but as he gradually assumes power, he grows progressively more corrupt. He even acquires the 1930’s symbol of rural elegance in México: a Packard. Vargas eventually challenges his mentor, with surprising but perhaps predictable results.

The film was initially denied release because it paints a hilarious but extremely negative picture of women, of local priests, and of local government. It also includes a great deal of amazingly foul, but ultimately very funny, Mexican slang. Even the title, La Ley de Herodes, is part of a very crude saying that might (with considerable liberty) be translated as “Law Blue: Do it to them or they’ll do it to you.”