This film looks neat. It isn't. It's a rambling, endless mess that goes nowhere. I swear if you took away the scenes where people run down the street, up steps, across fields, there would be about 15 minutes left. This is a modern version (sort of) of Oliver Twist. In it is man who pays little boys to be thieves. He doesn't pay them well. He gambles and loses the money. In the middle of this is also a story of the theft of an incredibly valuable jewel. Once again, the incompetency of people guarding these things is off the charts. Yes, I'd leave a few million dollars lying around while I checked to see who was at the door or, in this case, who was having a heart attack. O yes, it's one of the three stooges on a ladder, allowed to make repairs in the middle of a high security area. The screen does sparkle when Pernell Roberts, late of Bonanza and Trapper John is on the scene. But he is barely there. He wasn't a bad actor, but I heard he was a bit hard to get along with. He had that deep voice and natural authority. Mel Ferrer-- what was he thinking? Oh, yes, there was title character who saves the day. Oh brother.
5 Reviews
"Boy, you got a lot to learn."
classicsoncall14 October 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Well this seems to be a rambling mess that doesn't tie anything together by the end of the story. Nominally it's the tale of an orphaned Colombian boy (Panchito Gomez) who leaves his country environs to locate his Uncle Fermin (Joes Ferrer) in Bogota. Though Fermin looks outwardly successful, he actually heads up a schoolboy street gang that engages in petty thefts and then turns the loot over to Fermin in exchange for token amounts of cash. I guess the idea here is that Paco eventually realizes that this isn't the kind of life he wants to live, but the story veers off in rather questionable directions. For example, a notable Colombian movie star (Andre Marquis) who was once part of the 'camines' himself, is pressured into returning a favor to his benefactors by engaging in the theft of a ten million dollar emerald. Then, all of a sudden in the middle of all this, Pernell Roberts pops up as one of the masterminds of the jewel heist. Pernell Roberts!?!?
I'd like to think I was paying pretty close attention to this flick, but I have a few questions. What ever became of that Boyacayamel - the flashy giant emerald? How is it no one ever noticed a resemblance between one of the jewel thieves and the nation's biggest movie star? OK, he wore dark glasses and rubbed some hair dye into his beard, but come on. And at what point did Paco reconcile with Uncle Fermin after the elder relative basically told him to get lost?
Ordinarily I would never get get involved in a picture like this but I'm winding down to the last few flicks in my Mill Creek Mystery box set of two hundred fifty movies on sixty DVD's. There WAS one redeeming feature here though. Three years following the release of "The Exorcist" in the U.S., it looks like that horror flick made it to South America, as a prominent movie marquee in the film was displaying "El Exorcista".
I'd like to think I was paying pretty close attention to this flick, but I have a few questions. What ever became of that Boyacayamel - the flashy giant emerald? How is it no one ever noticed a resemblance between one of the jewel thieves and the nation's biggest movie star? OK, he wore dark glasses and rubbed some hair dye into his beard, but come on. And at what point did Paco reconcile with Uncle Fermin after the elder relative basically told him to get lost?
Ordinarily I would never get get involved in a picture like this but I'm winding down to the last few flicks in my Mill Creek Mystery box set of two hundred fifty movies on sixty DVD's. There WAS one redeeming feature here though. Three years following the release of "The Exorcist" in the U.S., it looks like that horror flick made it to South America, as a prominent movie marquee in the film was displaying "El Exorcista".
worth your time
rd148523 March 2011
There are positives in this unremembered film. First, you will see 100% authentic footage of the Colombian countryside, farmers, suburban train rails, and most of all, Bogota as it existed in the mid-70's. If it's overdubbed in English, I couldn't tell. The music is mostly orchestral and some rock/funk ala 70's crime dramas. Solid acting. Moral, authentic growing-of-age story about a country peasant boy drawn into the world of petty crime in Bogota which the movie portrays as the normal state of affairs for orphaned boys. Perhaps the only caveat is that the overall visual quality doesn't stand the test of time very well. "Paco" is included in the Mill Creek 50 Suspense Classics box set.
The works of Andres Marquis can not be forgotten. He did not fly high but he was far. The Bogota boy who dreamed of succeeding in Hollywood.
aricrc4 May 2017
Please friends! I really need to see this movie! But I don't find it anywhere to watch there is no online link where I can find it. I'm very fan of the actor Andres Marquis and I need to see this film urgently because it's very important for me. Please if anyone knows where I can watch this movie I would greatly appreciate it!
comment
loliocampo200119 January 2007
Please, be advised that the composer of the film Paco (1976) are MARIANO MORENO (*)(NOT MARIANO BRUNO) AND MAURO BRUNO Please changed! Maestro Mariano Moreno is also the composer of " Yucatan Suite" , written for the film Centinels of Silence, (Best Documentary- Best Short subject 1971- 2 Oscars winner), and "Sky High" documentary film by Robert Amram. Mr. Moreno is also an accomplished pianist -Show man- TV SHOWS: Johnny Carson - Mike Douglas- Today show Las Vegas: Dunes Hotel- Flamingo- Dessert Inn -Frontier- Hotel Plaza New York, Acapulco Plaza- RECORDS: capitol Record- CBS International - Epyc Sony Japan - RCA Argentina-
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
