The Night Buffalo (2007) User Reviews

Too pretentious!

[Alex_Supertramp · 6/10 · 23 August 2007]

I truly had high hopes with this film, but it turned out to be one of the biggest disappointments ever.

Its visual style tries desperate to imitate "Amores Perros" but it fails. Its director has so much to give, and I expect to watch his next film, because I think he has potential.

So why do I give it a 6/10 when it's pure garbage? Mainly because of the acting, which is great, specially Diego Luna. I also kind of liked cinematography and film editing. And yet, the screenplay is awful, full of corny lines, pretentious and empty, vacuum. What did it tried to tell us?

You never get to know many things, like motivations. It tries so hard to give a message that it gets lost trying, it loses strength. Another treatment of the same story might resulted in a masterpiece, since its main theme (loneliness and the search for one self) is a great issue.

Plus, it is full of unjustified nudity and sex, (***Spoiler***) like scene with Diego Luna and Camila Sodi when all of sudden she begin to undress, I mean, the woman is gorgeous but what was the point of that scene?

Finally, I must accept I prefer this film over some other Mexican films, it might worth watching, but I wouldn't recommend it.

In less things you know about this film you will enjoy it more thanks to the excessive publicity

[RainDogJr · 6/10 · 17 December 2007]

I never read this book but when i hear about the film i was very excited; first because i'm a big fan of Guillermo Arriga's first work after the success with Inarritu's films: "The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada". And second because i'm also a big fan of The Mars Volta so it looks like a really good film.

Unlike "The Three.............", this film is more know in Mexico than in the rest of world and it gain a big attention for all the Mexican press and in consequence of all the people. So it was like a "big disappointment", because all the critic was terrible and they were expecting another "Amores Perros".

I saw it in the opening day and i like it. Is about two friends: Gregorio and Manuel; when Gregorio commits suicide Manuel starts having a strange relation with Gregorio's world. The plot is good and i love the final part of the film when we saw what was the only thing that Manuel wants: the love of Tania.

The cast is just OK, Diego Luna is not an actor that i admire but in this film is good and i find the nude scenes just as a normal thing in films as in life; i don't understand why all the bad comments just for those scenes. Of course the character of Camila Sodi is nothing but unnecessary as her nude but well is Camila Sodi.

The music is really great, Omar Rodriguez Lopez is one of my favourites guitar players right now and is really cool to hear his music in a theater.

In conclusion: Arriaga proves that he can make good and strange stories, in this case the director is not great as Inarritu but for be his first feature film is not bad. So this is a good film that have all the bad reviews just for an excessive publicity in Mexico and in less things you know about this film you will enjoy it more. 6.5 out of 10

Guillermo Arriaga you're full of...

[kikecine · 2/10 · 21 August 2007]

This film is SO Overrated that it just hurts, i didn't get what the "message" of the film is, and neither both of my friends who went to see this thing with me. If Guillermo Arriaga, that snob who specializes on writing pretentious and stupid screenplays where the characters seems to be total idiots with no common sense whatsoever, wanted us to realize that 'love make us do anything' he accomplishes nothing but an endless line of cliché after cliché.

There is the proverbial love triangle between two best friends and the girlfriend of one of them, also including the sister of one of the guys. We never get their motivations or a single sense of explanation for their actions.

The dialogs are SO lame, so plastic, they are heard like cheesy bits from even cheesier love songs and pieces from a night of heavy drinking and weed smoking.

There are characters with nothing to do except get naked in front of the camera (and I don't have a problem with that) but don't try to deceive us by saying that is the 'great performance of their careers'.

The only thing I liked about the film, was the music, which was written by 'The Mars Volta'. Out of that, I don't think there was any other thing to highlight about this.

The phrase that better describes my reaction to this film is "Guillermo Arriaga you're full of crap!"

Biggest disaster in Mexican cinema in years

[RottenMoreno · 2/10 · 18 August 2007]

Guillermo Arriaga, writer of Amores Perros, 21 Grams and Babel, returns to Mexico to deliver what can easily be called the biggest disaster in Mexican cinema in years, The Night Buffalo, with Diego Luna in the leading role and a plot involving a schizophrenic man (Gabriel Gonzalez), who commits suicide after his girlfriend (Liz Gallardo) cheats on him with his best friend (Luna).

The Night Buffalo, a very promising film, supposedly going to give new light to Mexican cinema fails to impress and even throws our country back a few steps with its awfulness. After the vomit inducing, yet inexplicable box office success KM 31, I was more than ready to experience an upgrade in film-making, what I got was a major letdown, a pointless awkward "drama" filled with unnecessary sex and nudity that was surprisingly close to become a porn flick.

I don't understand Arriaga's screenplay... so, he actually wrote all the sex scenes? Wow, what a pervert. The whole film was completely pointless, if I wanted to see Diego Luna nude and screwing around with the whole cast, well there are better films where you can see that. It appears like the filmmakers made the film for the sole reason of watching everyone naked, the movie was about 2 hours long and one of them was sex. So yeah, there are artistic ways of showing nudity and some scripts need it, but this movie didn't need any, it had an interesting plot itself, but it didn't move an inch from the synopsis, nothing interesting ever happened in the film and even after the rushed and ridiculous ending, I was still waiting for something, ANYTHING, to make my time spent on the theater worth it.

The movie was unfocused, what was it's objective? The main plot was misused, I was interested in the schizophrenic character, but instead of developing him, they show him naked! And apparently that's the answer to every single question in the film, as none of the characters gets any development, not that we care about what happens to them since they are all worth hating, but at least we expect something to occur. The Night Buffalo should have focused in its audience, their need for an interesting, thrilling, suspenseful story, or maybe just focus on the title's premise shall we? Nothing, we get some nonsense lines here and there, but nothing solid ever sees the light.

Diego Luna's role was probably one of the characters I've most hated in all cinema history, how are we supposed to care for a character that betrayed his best friend sleeping with his girlfriend, and then betrayed her, sleeping with his best friend's sister, which is another blow towards his friend, who I can understand wants to kill himself being surrounded by such a disgusting bunch of people. Yuck, this was plain terrible, nothing to save from the film, everything felt awkward and unnecessary, boring as hell and one of the worst movies I've had the displeasure to see. Arriaga has just bought himself a ticket to Crapville, enjoy your stay.

Hmm... a very bad movie!!!!

[mediadered · 22 August 2007]

First of all I have to say that the book is really bad (Arriaga is one of the most overrated writers in Mexico) the characters are really lame, and they have nothing appealing, so after reading this crap I wasn't expecting nothing at all... But I went to see the film anyway and let me tell you that it's worse than the book, first of all, I think Diego Luna is overrated too, I have never liked him and after watching this film I think I hate him, I don't want to see him ever again, believe me that if you see him naked and having sex with all the cast you would feel the same way too... and another thing it looks that he's no good in bed...sorry!!!! For the rest of the characters they are no good, they just lay there naked, that's it. I think this film just wanted to shock us, the way Asi del precipicio did, I don't know which one is worse, no story, no substance.......nothing!!! It's a shame that they still make this kind of films in Mexico -they look like the ficheras genre- I think that they are better writers than Arriaga and better actors than Luna - I can name a lot- Anyway don't spend your time and your money in this film, because you're going to regret it... as I did

very disappointed

[the_skelters · 1/10 · 22 August 2007]

it's an awful film, the story is good but i think the director didn't know what to do with it, the nudity was just there to show naked actors with out justifying it, the style of the movie the camera the acting the music, it did not mesh well it was just a lot of ingredients thrown in the air not coming together at all, the story seems like it has potential but with a better director maybe, or just somebody with the right vision could have done a good job with this... The wolf in the movie has more personality then all the characters in the film and the only believable character is the crazy kids sister who is also in love with the best friend. The ex girlfriends character was just bizarre, she acts crazy for no reason, or at least we never see how good of a relationship she had with the schizo.

Disturbing and non-sexual connotation sex

[ziyisamcao · 7/10 · 17 January 2017]

First of all I want to give credit to Diego Luna, he's no doubt one of the finest actor in Mexico. Before I watched this I just saw the 2015 TV series Casanova that he played.It surprised me how differently he can be on sex scenes, perhaps seeing some different act from him helps you to understand this film more.

In Casanova you can see how much his character loves women and treasures them like a delicate creation simply from his body movement. But in this one, you feel no pleasure while his character's doing those things to women, pure instinctive, almost insensitive. He's doing these to fill his own void.

Void is one thing being talked about through out this film. We're all capable of hate, and love sometimes. But what if we can feel nothing? This craving of being able to feel was driving people to do things. To have sex, like Manuel, to kill, like Gregorio. This buffalo that only comes to stare at you in the night is the loneliness we all have to face. This is something this film was trying to deliver I guess. Not so successfully though.

This sense of unsuccessful about this film is because it's based on a very poor screen-script. Some of the dialogues are so bad that almost painful to watch. It weakened the plots a lot, though you can see how much effort the director, actors and even the music editor put trying to empower these scenes with emotions.

The other thing this film failed to deliver is the sickness. The earwig that Gregorio mentioned at the beginning, suggested he's suffering from schizophrenia --Gregorio is not the only one. So does Manuel. He saw it as well, maybe this is just a start. In the end when he asked Tania do you love me, it feels like a compulsive invitation, to ask her to join this madness of seeking feelings.

In this world, everyone is sick, no one is satisfied.

Sorry for this film

[alexmz_jr · 1/10 · 19 August 2007]

The film is terrible, the subject of the film does not have sense, music is frightful and the actors without commentaries. I hoped for another thing of this film, but not covered all my expectation, sorry that she is Mexican, but is necessary to recognize when she is good or bad, and this is garbage, literally.

The film is terrible, the subject of the film does not have sense, music is frightful and the actors without commentaries. I hoped for another thing of this film, but not covered all my expectation, sorry that she is Mexican, but is necessary to recognize when she is good or bad, and this is garbage, literally.

almost a waste of time

[gogisgavrilis · 3/10 · 17 May 2009]

I am a European living in USA for 3 years and always exited to watch a non- Hollywood movie. I have seen a lot that involves guys in this movie and around them. Loved almost everything I saw. So I was very eager to see some new work. I have never heard about the book (until I read some other comments) but I hope it was better then this. So what if he is in love, we all are. Are we thinking of going nuts about it? Sometimes. We have seen this kinda staff too many times. And all that nudity. Only good thing about it is that is all natural, which gives us somewhat soft touch. But still did not understand anything the movie tries to tell us.

I never think watching a movie is a waste of time, though this one came close!!!

An erotic drama about guilt and the flaws of the younger generation.

[rheakhere · 8/10 · 25 June 2013]

A lot of reviews here assert that the sex scenes in this film are gratuitous and unnecessary, and I think those individuals may have missed the point of the film.

Arriaga intended this story to be a conviction of sorts of the younger generation, who he sees as eschewing emotional and intellectual intimacy and using sex to fill the void. Sex is the primary language these characters speak, and it is also the evidence for which they are charged.

Manuel does not have a very high regard for women. In the film, we see him use women for lust, for comfort, for anger, and for a bastardized form of love which I'll get to.

After Gregorio is driven to suicide, he leaves a box for Manuel, who has been engaged in a years-long affair with Gregorio's girlfriend, Tania. In flashbacks, he shows little guilt, but when he receives the box, his guilt manifests as Gregorio's madness; he sees earwigs crawling on him, but they always disappear.

The box contains notes and photos depicting things Gregorio could not possibly know: omens of Manuel's tryst with Gregorio's sister, Margarita, and things Manuel and Tania said to each other behind closed doors. More notes are delivered by Gregorio's friend Jacinto, who becomes the proxy by which Gregorio haunts Manuel from beyond the grave and protects Tania from being pulled down into Manuel's madness.

As Manuel becomes further and further unhinged, we see that his love for Tania is hardly love at all, but is contingent upon her love for him. He loves her only because she loves him, and whenever he doubts her love, he becomes angry, violent, or distant with her.

Their relationship culminates in a bizarre sex scene, the symbolism of which I'm still unsure about. After that, Manuel's life falls apart completely. Everyone leaves him, including Tania, but her parting words of love leave Manuel something to cling to in his coming solitude.

If you like erotic dramas, this film does not disappoint. Apart from the scene described earlier, it isn't very difficult to understand, which is why some of the other reviews here confuse me a bit. It isn't an instant favorite of mine, but it is quite good, and I'd recommend a watch for any lovers of the genre.

Overly bad, pathetic for the most part

[Rodrigo_Amaro · 3/10 · 10 June 2013]

"El Bufalo de la Noche" is one of those cases when you know the thing is going to be bad after some 20 minutes of watching and for some odd reasons you keep going just to see how worse it can get. There's a magnet in there that pulls you in, leaving you hooked for brief instants, but most of the time you'll be off, mind going other places and you probably fall asleep time and time again (like I did). If the purpose of such "movie" is to thrill and make us involved with the "plot" keeping us suspenseful why insisting in presenting a slow paced drama that goes nowhere? It's most gripping element is also the most gratuitous, most random and completely pointless: the sex scenes. That's why you stay awake while watching this.

The director has claimed in interviews that "The Night Buffalo" was all about portraying two of the most worrying (and overlooked) problems of in Mexico, the young schizophrenics and young suicidal, a social problem with a high rating in the country. They needed to be visible in the movies one day. Writer Guillermo Arriaga (WHY? You have amazing scripts out there, why invest time in writing stuff like this?) with this novel and screenplay seemed to be looking in other direction, conceiving this as a sort of psychological thriller embedded in sex and strangeness disguised as plot twists. The most I could get was this: it revolves around Manuel (Diego Luna) and the way he deals with the suicide of his friend Gregorio (Gabriel González), a schizophrenic whose life has spiralled out of control after finding out that his girlfriend (Liz Gallardo) was cheating on him with Manuel. Most of the time is centered on Manuel's flashbacks about their friendship, we get the sense that something is about to go very wrong between both since Manuel already see the signs that Gregorio is getting more insane each day goes by; and it's also centered in the things Gregorio left behind, a box with objects and one more mystery to be solved by the protagonist.

Somehow the biggest concern of the movie revolves in the explicit sex scenes, and it goes between Manuel and Tania, Gregorio's girlfriend, and also with Gregorio's sister. Actors are comfortable in doing those, Diego is always a treat while being part of those and there's plenty of him if you know what I mean (el guapo es muy caliente!), the scenes were greatly filmed (except the car scene which was very weird) but they're pointless to the movie's cause. And it's a severe bad case of movies/characters confusing sex with love. I remember when love was something that involved action and not just sticking sexual members into each other. He says he loves Tania more than his friend did, but at no point such was presented, it's just infatuation, the urgency of wanting to be with the other. For what? Those characters aren't described sufficiently or interesting enough so we can believe they're in love with each other, or that they have something special to share.

The mystery, the delusions, the clues, the so-called buffalo of the night, the whispered voices in the night...who cares? It's so dull and poorly put, ultimately you're there for nothing, less than nothing. Pathetic. I won't say it was bad acted. Luna was decent, but his character was so lifeless, charmless yet all the girls got the hots for him; González steals the show from him in his brief scenes, very believable as someone who is losing his mind but even so he managed to understand that he couldn't trust his best friend. I would have enjoyed a frightening confront between both instead of each scaring women on their own, in two separate occasions towards the conclusion.

There's very little gain from "The Night Buffalo", so why bother? Unless you're only in it for the exciting scenes which are not all that exciting. As for the pinhead who put this film as from the adult genre on this website, please go watch real adult movies before updating stuff in here. "The Brown Bunny" had way more things - real, by the way - than this movie and still isn't categorized as such. If you go a step forward and end up buying this, at least it'll be useful as a replacement for sleeping pills. I pity Luna and Arriaga fans for falling into this entrapment. They are great but not in here. 3/10

This is not a movie about animals or happy nice people BUT I liked it.

[jaybob · 8/10 · 7 August 2009]

In many reviews I have mentioned I like films about people I would like to know.

This is NOT one of those films.

This is a drama about unhappy people at a sad time in there lives.

Jorje Hernandez Aldana directed & co-wrote this with Guillermo Arriaga.

It stars DIEGO LUNA one of Mexico's best actors of the day.

Watching him just lying in bed is exciting. He is still grieving of the recent suicide of his best friend, Liz Gallardo,is the girl friend of both men. There are many well done but almost explicit sex scenes,these scenes are essential to the story,the full frontal nudity of both is also necessary.

There is also one sad but needed scene at a ZOO where an act of violence occurs.

As I stated above, this is a sad story about sad people.

For a reason I really cant explain, I appreciated what I saw, & hopefully you will as well.

Ratings: *** (out of 4) 87 points (out of 100) IMDb 8 (out of 10)

He just wants to be loved by the girl he loves

[bubblegun-1 · 9/10 · 1 October 2007]

Sorry, I don't agree with the previous comment. Sometimes I really miss this movie. It was probably one of the best I saw at Sundance. It's a very private film. Maybe the main character is unusual to most people, don't know. But I understand him. He wants to be loved by the girl he loves, he's driven by his feelings. That's what the night buffalo actually represents - the mark, the tattoo of our inner drive that slowly destroys us. It's desire that is not catalyzed. The characters in the movie can neither "tame" it, nor kill it. The whole brotherhood thing plays into all this as well, but I don't wanna go into it.

The nudity was a little too much and the pissing scene's weird, but it all fits with the story, the theme. Diego Luna's completely naked, relaxed (call it "openness" if you want). Yet, there's no relief from the "heat" that burns inside. Sex remains somewhere between desire and satisfaction. Probably because he doesn't look for sex, but love. I like this idea. It's an interesting twist on Freud. Maybe we are not driven by sexual, but emotional desires after all.

A Riveting Trip into Madness

[luv_blake · 9/10 · 16 March 2008]

Explicit and disturbing, El Bufalo de la Noche is the story of a young man, Manuel, embarking into the twisted psyche of his best friend Gregorio after Gregorio's suicide. The film focuses on three periods of time in the lives of Manuel and Gregorio. Unlike the tacky portrayal of times passed found in most movies (usually shown with a change in hair style) the effects of pain and loss can be seen and felt in the outstanding performances of the players. Indeed, the performances of Diego Luna, Irene Azuela, Liz Gallardo and Gabriel González can be called nothing short of brilliant. The grim tone of the film reflects the darkness of the mind, the struggle between loyalty and temptation and helplessness in the face of human weakness. If you are looking for something easy and straightforward to watch, rent Pirates of the Caribbean. If you want to see something complex and intensely visceral, something that will leave you with shivers, watch El Bufalo de la Noche.

Very impressing film

[nino7070 · 9/10 · 1 April 2010]

did not read the book, it would be explain to me more, probably, but looking a film I have drawn absolutely other conclusions - not Gregorio was revenges Manuel, but friends Gregorio (they was betrayed Manuel, too) and own conscience. Manuel the kind, good person, but he have one defect - he should betray and he betrays for the sake of love which he searches in different people and finds, but it does not suffice him, he the addict of love - all women for him is marijuana type, only Tania - opium. I think it's a magnificent film though with it is easy pornography, and Diego Luna creates a fine image of the person lost in the feelings