Lack of good storyline.

Better Late Then Never

An action-packed slog

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There should be a warning on this kind of films, something like a label: "Be aware this movie is art" or some other clue for keep the public mental health. This is the most boring film I have ever seen, 90 minutes lost in my life. Honestly I don't understand what are others seeing on this "piece of art", maybe I'm not sensitive enough. There is no more to say, I was expecting to find a deep message at the end of the film, but as someone say here in another review, the climax of this movie is the part were the characters are playing a football video game, I couldn't find anything else interesting. If you are fan of "art" movies probably you will love this, otherwise, don't waste your time, there are funnier ways to spend the time.

I am not surprised that the under 18 crowd gives this movie a better rating than adults. Basically this is a story of children surviving the mistakes of their parents. The boys, and Rita, are heroes (niños héroes), survivors of the modern phenomenon of being on their own, essentially restricted to home when not at school. Their imaginations are confined to indoor activities, lazy ones: for the boys, playing video games, and for Rita, imagining adulthood, which includes cooking. It becomes obvious that Rita has never done any cooking. The film begins with a quick panoramic view of where the action will take place. Significantly, the playground swings close to the apartment building will not be part of the movie's set. Then the camera focuses on the particular apartment block of the 3 children. It's name is "Niños Héroes". In 1847 the US invaded Mexico ("from the Halls of Moctezuma…" the Mexican- American War). In Mexico City the last defense was the Military Academy. The US prevailed and the 6 teenage cadets, "los niños héroes" died. At the time Mexico's 'adults', i.e. the government, was a total disaster; Santa Ana was again the President. The title "Temporada de patos" or "Duck Season" also reflects this historic assault by a large adult army on a group, 'flock', of children, 'ducks'. The movie has a lot of laughs, and does not, unlike the history of the "niños héroes" end in tragedy. Kids can be survivors. The pizza delivery guy saves the painting of their flight, their survival.

We've all seen movies that just portray Mexico as one of the poorest countries in the world and have its people usually situated like "Speedy Gonzalez"-like carefree people with very short tempers.While it is somewhat true for some regions (or the most part, it all depends), that's not the representation of Mexico as a whole. This movie is closer to what me, my friends, and (some of my) relatives live like: normal people who just like to kick back, play videogames, have a coke, and just have fun with everyday life. They just happen to live in Mexico (and I just happen to live in America in my part because of my grandparents). That's really all it is.Of course, like any art film, the movie goes a little beyond your typical Sunday afternoon. The two main kids, Flama and Mako, are just trying to spend the entire day killing time and they are eventually accompanied by Rita (Flama's next door neighbor who just needed to borrow the kitchen) and Ulises (A pizza delivery guy, with a heart of gold, who stays with the gang because of pay disputes over a pizza Flama and Mako ordered in the beginning).But, unlike your REAL typical Sunday, everything just gets chaotic within that 9 hour time-span. So inevitably, the characters eventually flesh out their true colors, often get into discussions about how animals act, why they are in the mess they are in, and how their fast friendship eventually became something worth more than just borrowing a kitchen to make a cake or pay disputes over a pizza.The name "Duck Season" will become pretty apparent in the middle and towards the end, I thought it was truly symbolic and clever the way they used the theme. Some of the jokes are funny (some even funnier if you listen to the slang they pull at each other), some of the situations can get really deep to a point where you know the character's true desires, and in the end...you just can't help but sit back and wish for more!I'll end this saying the Black and White style fits the film perfectly (especially in a few scenes, which would've been hellish to retake without the B&W filter) but the ending...well, like I said, it left me wanting for a little more. Many of the camera angles are well done, but in my opinion, they should've laid off the fade in/fade out a little bit (I mean, my poor eyes...). And I have to hand it to them...i'm glad they actually depicted videogames in a more REALISTIC fashion; its not just two kids smashing their poor controllers to hell in a ONE player game *cough*charliesangles*cough*, you've got Halo and what I *think* is FIFA (correct me if i'm wrong). I hope more directors will pick up the trend soon if they want to make their films seem a little more realistic when they include videogames.Overall, a good film and a must see!

"Duck Season (Temporada de patos)" answers the question what do 14 - 16 year olds in a Mexico City housing development do on a lazy Sunday afternoon when their mother and the electric power is out? Turns out, not much else than the kids in the Wisconsin basement did in "That'70's Show" or in Dr. Seuss's "The Cat in the Hat". It is a relief to know these latchkey friends aren't like Larry Clark's "Kids" on NYC's Lower East Side or those in the banlieus we've seen lately in French films, as instead we have a series of amusing vignettes, with the humor emphasized by co-writer/director Fernando Eimbcke's camera angles. The audience frequently takes the position of the oven, video game, painting, etc. that the adorable youngsters stare at intensely in various degrees of sobriety. Danny Perea as literally the girl next door is marvelous. The boys' friendship is very naturally portrayed. This is the second little movie I've seen this year where a pizza delivery guy gets caught up in his customers lives (as in "Pizza") and it is a cute gimmick, even if we don't really learn much about the guy other than that he's fed up.We only learn much about one of the kids, as the minor revelations are let out gradually in incongruous ways. Surprisingly, any of the self-discovery or lessons learned are really just a taking off point for humorous actions. It's just a series of funny looking scenes, one slowly after another, usually based on the kids' naiveté and misunderstandings. (The trailer is very misleading as to the pacing of the film.)The final scene is after all the credits so you can see, among many thanks, acknowledgments to Yasujiro Ozu, probably for the domestic focus and camera angles, and James Jarmusch, as this black and white film does have a lot in common with the look and interactions in "Coffee and Cigarettes", among other of his films.There are only a couple of cool song selections we hear them playing, with some classical pieces for juxtapositional humor. The English subtitles are always legible and easy to read.