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Review

Veteran Mexican director Arturo Ripstein's (Queen of the Night) curious drama is set in a brothel owned by a drag queen, "Manuela," and his daughter, "The Japanese Girl." Father/daughter rivalry takes an unusual twist as both find themselves attracted to the same man: Pancho, the brutally macho lover of the girl. After one particularly violent episode when the drunken Pancho is especially abusive to his daughter, Manuela, though harboring a real fear of the man, nonetheless confronts him in his own way. Not all dads would step in wearing high heels and a gorgeous Flamenco dress, and they might not all perform an erotic dance to divert Pancho's attentions and offer himself rather than his daughter. A drama that exposes the conflicting fury and cowardice underlying the machismo façade. Quite intriguing. (Spanish with English subtitles)