Bandidas
for sexuality, nudity and violence.
| Moral Rating: | Offensive |
| Moviemaking Quality: |
|
| Primary Audience: | Adults |
| Genre: | Western Crime Action Comedy |
| Length: | 1 hr. 33 min. |
| Year of Release: | 2006 |
| USA Release: |
September 22, 2006 (very limited) |
Has death always existed? Why does it exist?
For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge. I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” —Hebrews 10:30
How can I know what is right or wrong?
What does Scripture say about stealing?How can I discern whether a particular activity is wrong?
| Featuring |
|---|
|
Penélope Cruz … Maria Alvarez Salma Hayek … Sara Sandoval Steve Zahn … Quentin Dwight Yoakam … Tyler Jackson Sam Shepard … Bill Buck See all » |
| Director |
|
Joachim Rønning Espen Sandberg |
| Producer |
|
Luc Besson Ariel Zeitoun See all » |
| Distributor |
Here’s what the distributor says about their film: “Set in the late 19th century. When a ruthless robber baron takes away everything they cherish, a rough-and-tumble, idealistic peasant and a sophisticated heiress embark on a quest for justice, vengeance… and a few good heists.”
Story Summary
In 1880 Mexico, María Álvarez (Penélope Cruz (Penelope Cruz)) is an uneducated, poor farm girl whose caring father is being forced off his land by a cruel U.S. land baron named Tyler Jackson (Dwight Yoakam). Sara Sandoval (Salma Hayek) is the highly educated, wealthy daughter of the arrogant owner of the nearby properties, and has recently returned from Europe where she attended numerous grade schools and colleges in England, Spain, and France for several years. In one fell swoop, both María’s and Sara’s fathers fall under attack by the baron (Sara’s father is killed, María’s is shot but survives), giving him free rein in the nearby territories.
As an act of revenge, María and Sara team up to become bank robbers, stealing and giving back to the poor Mexicans who have lost their lands.
At first, the pair’s relationship is characterized by petty cattiness stemming in part from their different backgrounds, but under the tutelage of famed bank robber Bill Buck (Sam Shepard) they learn to trust each other. During their crucial training session at the edge of a cliff, the two women test their strength by hanging from a metal bar over a wide river. At the point of exhaustion María tells Sara she cannot swim before losing her grip on the bar. Sara voluntarily drops into the river and saves her.
The two women put aside their differences and agree that, while they are not friends, they can at least work together as partners. María turns out to be a crack shot and, while Sara can barely hold a gun, she shows that she is an expert with throwing knives.
Angered by the recent attacks by two women, who are now known by the public as the “Bandidas”, Jackson brings in a specialist criminal investigator named Quentin Cooke (Steve Zahn). When Sara and María learn this, they capture Cooke and seduce him to help them. He has already figured out that Sara’s father was murdered and therefore discovers that his client is a criminal.
The trio embark upon bigger, more ambitious heists, during which María and Sara compete for Quentin's affections. In a move to make the money they have stolen useless, Jackson moves the gold that backs the money on a train up towards U.S. territories. Midway, he decides to steal the gold, betraying the Mexican government. The Bandidas hunt him down, but when they get their chance to kill him, they decline to do so, feeling it would make them no better than him. Jackson manages to draw his gun and almost gets a shot off at María but Sara shoots first, killing him.
Quentin meets with his fiancée, much to María’s heartbreak. She and Sara ride off into the sunset, their eyes set on Europe, where Sara says the banks are bigger.
- Language: H*ll, D*mn, G*d d*mn, S-words, B*tch(es), Slut
- Nudity: Low-cut dresses emphasizing cleavage, Man’s bare behind
- Sex: Male bondage scene with posing for pictures, Two women sexually assault and almost rape a tied-up man (comedic), Brothel scene, Women in lingerie
See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.
Maria (Penélope Cruz) is the impetuous daughter of a poor Mexican farmer whose farm has just been repossessed illegally. Sara (Salma Hayek) is the cultured daughter of the richest man in town, a banker who has unknowingly been instrumental in the repossessions of the land of the villagers. The daughters team up to reclaim the land (and the gold) for the people, in a sort of Mexican Robin Hood tale. Rob from the rich, in this case, the evil New York bank, and give to the poor—the Mexicans whose land was stolen. Along the way they enlist the help of a retired bank robber (Sam Shepard) and a criminologist (Zahn) sent to help track them down.
The film opens with a bespectacled crime-solving Quentin Cooke (Zahn) showing his Sherlock-Holmes-type skills. We don’t see him again until half an hour into the movie, as the characters of Maria and Sara are introduced and their evolution into “bandidas” is shown.
The commentary states that Hayek and Cruz wanted to make a movie together, and they do interact with one another well. This is a female “buddy” movie with a Western theme, and the opposing personalities portrayed by the two actresses set up an interesting counterpoint as the movie gets rolling. The obligatory catfight between the girls is, of course, included, but the film does refrain from exploring further risque possibilities, with one notable exception. This is an offensive scene in the criminologist’s hotel room where the bandidas, uncharacteristically and scantily dressed as Vegas-type showgirls, tie him naked to a bed, snap incriminating photos of him, and elicit necessary information from him. They both kiss him sensuously which turns into a running gag for the rest of the film. (This scene is located in the middle of Chapter 11 and lasts about 5 minutes.)
Once they’ve recruited the criminologist to assist them in their “rob the rich” schemes, the movie really gets rolling. Donning costumes, the ladies take turns pairing up with Quentin to scope out and rob more banks, which gets progressively more difficult. The villain, played by Dwight Yoakam, works for the New York bank, and makes it his personal mission to track down the bandidas and see them hanged. Some laughs and clever dialogue help the story along.
Is this movie appropriate for children? The showgirl scene described above makes it ill-suited for kids, although if those five minutes were skipped, the remainder of the movie is fairly innocuous standard Western-style violence intermixed with comedy. In my opinion, the child who has seen other PG-13 films would find little else shocking in this film. My own children have not seen it, however, I would not discount the possibility of them, especially my oldest, watching an edited version of the film at some future date.
This isn’t an extraordinary movie, or a significant one, but it is an enjoyable lighthearted Western comedy that definitely deserves its PG-13 rating. If you’re looking for a fun Western, this fits the bill!
Average / 3
My Ratings: Average / 4