good back-story, and good acting

A lot of fun.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Matinée (1977) starts its audience off in a cleverly misleading, deliberately low-key manner, but soon sets up a noirish situation for two young boys that cleverly utilizes many believable twists and surprises to build towards both the expected high voltage climax (which itself has one really amazingly credible moment when it seems the vicious, hard-luck gangster has been caught by an alert detective) and a most unexpected, yet natural and character-consistent fade-out. The acting of both the young stars (and in fact, the whole cast, with a special pat on the back for Farnesio de Bernal) is commendably realistic. Writer/director Jaime Humberto Hermosillo never puts a foot wrong either in his vividly powerful, cleverly characterized screenplay or his consistently astute direction with its eye-opening use of real Mexican locations.