Cabaret Arcángel (2004)

Directed by Juan N. López Reyes

Cabaret Arcángel is a satirical tale unfolding in real time inside a nightclub frequented by Mexico’s cultural elite. Poet Felipe Alekine attempts to upstage blues musician Lalo Tex with his pretentious poem, while his young mistress Valeria asks notorious criminal El Rolo to murder him to win her favor. Fearing the power of the cultural establishment, El Rolo refuses. Meanwhile, an amphibious man living in a fish tank watches the show. He loves Lalo Tex’s music and despises Alekine’s pretentiousness. When a .38-caliber pistol falls into the tank, the creature uses it to shoot the poet, delivering an unexpected act of “justice.” El Rolo’s fate becomes intertwined with the fish-man’s, while the consequences of this strange, possibly criminal act are left to the viewer.