When the smoke clears, it just means he’s reloading.|Aug. 25, 1995|United States | Mexico|104 Min.|R
Genre: Action;Crime;Thriller
Description: “Desperado,” released in 1995, is an action-packed film that follows the story of El Mariachi, a musician turned vigilante. The movie begins in August 1994 at the Tarasco bar in Mexico, where an American named Buscemi recounts a gruesome massacre he witnessed, committed by a Mexican man carrying a guitar case filled with weapons. The bar patrons show little interest until Buscemi mentions the name “Bucho.” Meanwhile, El Mariachi dreams of his encounter with Bucho’s underling, Moco, who killed his lover and injured his hand. Buscemi wakes El Mariachi and urges him to continue his quest for revenge by seeking out Bucho at the bar.
El Mariachi meets a young boy whose father is a guitarist and offers the child some advice. At the Tarasco bar, tensions rise as El Mariachi confronts Bucho’s henchmen, leading to a violent shootout. He eliminates everyone in the bar except Tavo, who survives and follows him outside. Tavo wounds El Mariachi but is ultimately killed. Carolina, a woman El Mariachi saved during the gunfight, takes him to her bookstore to tend to his injuries. While he recovers, she discovers the weapons hidden in his guitar case and realizes his true identity. El Mariachi enlists her help to track down Bucho.
El Mariachi visits the town church to speak with Buscemi, who, shaken by the bloodshed, convinces him to abandon his quest for vengeance. However, outside the church, they are ambushed by a knife-wielding assailant who kills Buscemi and seriously injures El Mariachi. Bucho’s men mistake the attacker for El Mariachi and kill him, later discovering that he was actually Navajas, a hitman sent by the Colombians to eliminate El Mariachi.
Cast director: Robert Rodriguez
Cast actor: Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Joaquim de Almeida, Steve Buscemi, Cheech Marin, Carlos Gómez, Quentin Tarantino, Tito Larriva, Angel Aviles, Danny Trejo
Original name: Desperado