La Cucaracha (1998 film)
Encyclopedia
La Cucaracha is a 1998 American film directed by Jack Perez and starring Eric Roberts
and Joaquim de Almeida
. The film follows the story of Walter Pool (Eric Roberts
), a down on his luck wannabe novelist, who receives an offer of $100,000 to kill an alleged child killer. Walter needs the money desperately for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he is infatuated with a local woman and he feels as though he has nothing to offer to her. He accepts the offer only to find out that the task of killing another human being is much more difficult than he thought, especially when it turns out that his intended victim is not really a child killer.
The film premiered on May 14, 1998 at the Austin Film Festival
where it won the Feature Film Award.
Although the film earned less than $15,000, it received some positive reviews scoring 67% as of February 9, 2010 on the aggregate review website Rotten Tomatoes
. Film critic Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
awarded La Cucaracha three stars out of four calling it an "intriguing, stylish little film". Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle awarded the film three and a half stars praising "McManus' brilliant screenplay" and calling the film a "minor gem".
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
and Joaquim de Almeida
Joaquim de Almeida
Joaquim António Portugal Baptista de Almeida is a Portuguese-born American actor. He began his acting doing some theater. During the 1980s, he started his film career appearing on the 1982 action film The Soldier, and later achieved recognition for playing Andrea Bonanno in the 1987 Italian film...
. The film follows the story of Walter Pool (Eric Roberts
Eric Roberts
Eric Anthony Roberts is an American actor. His career began with King of the Gypsies , earning a Golden Globe nomination for best actor debut. He starred as the protagonist in the 1980 dramatisation of Willa Cather's 1905 short story, Paul's Case...
), a down on his luck wannabe novelist, who receives an offer of $100,000 to kill an alleged child killer. Walter needs the money desperately for many reasons, not the least of which is the fact that he is infatuated with a local woman and he feels as though he has nothing to offer to her. He accepts the offer only to find out that the task of killing another human being is much more difficult than he thought, especially when it turns out that his intended victim is not really a child killer.
The film premiered on May 14, 1998 at the Austin Film Festival
Austin Film Festival
The Austin Film Festival was started in 1994 in Austin, Texas and is claimed to be "the first organization of its kind to focus on the writer’s unique creative contribution to the film and television industries"...
where it won the Feature Film Award.
Although the film earned less than $15,000, it received some positive reviews scoring 67% as of February 9, 2010 on the aggregate review website Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
. Film critic Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
awarded La Cucaracha three stars out of four calling it an "intriguing, stylish little film". Marc Savlov of The Austin Chronicle awarded the film three and a half stars praising "McManus' brilliant screenplay" and calling the film a "minor gem".
See also
- 1998 in film1998 in film-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
- Cinema of the United StatesCinema of the United StatesThe cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
- List of American films of 1998