Article Contains Spoilers

El Mariachi is a 1993 action film directed by Robert Rodriguez. Gallardo, El Mariachi, is a singer who stops in a town while traveling to different concerts. He carries his guitar in a case. Azul is an assassin who looks and acts like a mariachi but carries his weapons in his guitar case. Azul came to take over the town. This confusion is at the center of El Mariachi's main conflict. Maurico, the town's narco boss, was threatened by the assassin's arrival in his town but mistakingly targets Gallardo, the actual Mariachi singer to kill. Through parallel sound and camera movements, Rodriguez is able to create a wildly violent atmosphere.

Having been mistaken for Azul the assassin, Gallardo was kidnapped and taken to Mauricio by one of his employees Bigoton, an assassin himself. In a particularly tense scene as Bigoton attempts to kill Gallardo, the camera pans between the two characters like a stand off, putting the audience right in the middle. This scene was enhanced through atmospheric sound. Parallel sound of a fast paced piano captured the aggressiveness to Bigoton chasing Gallardo and his attempted murder. Similar use of sound captured the final scene when Mauricio dramatically shoots Azul.

Rodriguez effectively recreates the shock and excitement of this crazy story through violent images, a fast pace and engaging dialogue between characters. I was interested in Gallardo's well being and was constantly wondering if he was going to be safe or be killed. He was innocent so I felt bad for him; he was just caught up in this confusion and mistaken identity. I was also engaged by the movies action; the bloody characters and violent shoot outs, whil enot appropriate for small children, make the movie exciting.