January 3, 2025 – This is a fascinating film to watch because of its compelling plot, engaging characters and mind-bending plot twists. I don't want to spoil it, so I will leave out some of the biggest plot twists.

This is a Spanish language movie (with a bit of English dialog) directed by a Frenchman, starring a couple of Americans, and it is also a French, Belgian, Mexican production, which makes it unusual right there. Add to that, it is also a musical. Zoe Saldaña (of “Guardians of the Galaxy”) stars as Rita Mora Castro, a Mexican lawyer who takes on a very unusual job. The other American star is Selena Gomez of the “Only Murders in the Building” series. Gomez plays Jessi Del Monte, the wife of a Mexican drug lord.

Rita is a talented, but unhappy lawyer working in a corrupt legal system. She doesn't feel valued and doesn't see much opportunity for advancement, so she jumps at a chance to make a lot of money when she gets an anonymous call. She shows up for the meeting and is kidnapped.

She is taken to a remote location with a hood over her head. Arriving at her destination, she comes face to face with a notorious criminal, Manitas Del Monte (played by Karla Sofía Gascón). Manitas has a very lucrative, dangerous and complicated job for Rita. Manitas plans to fake his own death and disappear in a most unusual way. He wants Rita to arrange for his new life, a change of face, a change of identity, and to provide for his wife, Jessi, and his children, who, for their own safety, will not be aware that he is still alive.

Rita takes the job, despite the danger, and is accosted by Manitas' minions at one point for spending too much money in pursuit of his goals. She is being watched all the time to make sure she follows Manitas' instructions. Rita does the job and is greatly relieved when she receives a phone call from Manitas, telling her that the job is finished.

Of course the story is not that simple. Rita moves to London, working new jobs, aided by the wealth she earned by working for Manitas. One day, Manitas shows up in London with a new job for Rita. Manitas wants to return to Mexico to be near family. This is obviously a bad idea, but Rita is persuaded to help Manitas again.

What follows is a larger-than-life twisted tale of love, redemption, jealousy and tragedy. Manitas is able to be reunited, after a fashion, with family (even though they think he is still dead). Manitas forms a charity organization to find the remains of crime victims (many of whom were killed by the cartel Manitas himself once ran) so that their families can finally know their fates and bury them.

Manitas and Rita become friends and find fulfillment running this charity. Manitas also finds a new love, Epifania (played by Adriana Paz). If this sounds strange, it is even more strange than I have described here. There is a lot of high powered drama in this story, including another love affair, confessions, a kidnapping and a shootout. The plot of this movie manages to cram about a year's worth of soap opera stories into two hours, but it sure is compelling. I was hooked on this story from the start.

As strange as this story is, there are certainly elements of it that are conventional, such as the idea of karma related to past crimes. Zoe Saldaña, an underappreciated actor, really shines in this movie, along with Karla Sofía Gascón as Manitas, Selena Gomez and Adriana Paz (Epifania). Award-winning director Jacques Audiard, has another winner with this film, which is expected to receive multiple Academy Award nominations. It rates an A.

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