Film

The Soft One

Director

Fernando Méndez

Year

1951

Charming but unreliable, Roberto has earned his nickname "El Suavecito" through his constant flirtations and the easy way he moves through life, even when it causes pain to his devoted aging mother and his beautiful neighbor Lupita, who resists his overtures in the hopes he can learn to settle down and behave. When Lupita gains a steady and honest suitor in Carlos, El Suavecito can't resist trying to foul his chances with the help of the unscrupulous gambler "El Nene"--but it all goes badly wrong. This neglected noir asks whether a morally impoverished gangster is capable of redemption.