The Mexico Trilogy or Mariachi Trilogy is a series of American/Mexican contemporary western action films—El Mariachi, Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico—all written and directed by Robert Rodriguez. All three films tell the continuing story of El Mariachi. The films were released in theatres between 1993 and 2003, and later on a complete DVD trilogy box set in 2010.
The films
Production
The trilogy began with the 1993 ultra low-budget production of El Mariachi. The film was made on a budget of only US$7,000 using 16-millimeter film, was shot entirely in Mexico with a mostly amateur cast, and was originally intended to go directly to the Mexican home-video market. Reportedly Rodriguez got some funds for the film by offering himself up as a human guinea pig to science labs. Other finances came in the form of prize money won by his short student film, Bedhead, at film festival competitions. Executives at Columbia Pictures liked the film so much that they bought the rights to it for American distribution and eventually spent several times more than the film's original production budget on 35 millimeter film transfers, a marketing campaign and the eventual distribution/release of the film. It was so well received that they eventually chose to finance the second part of the trilogy, Desperado, and subsequently the final chapter, Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
Plots
A recurring theme of the Mexico Trilogy deals with El Mariachi being alone as all of his loved ones die in front of him. The first film of the trilogy, El Mariachi, tells the story of an out-of-work musician, known simply as El Mariachi, traveling through Mexico. He arrives in a small border town, hoping to find work in some of the local cantinas and clubs. Unfortunately for the man, local hoodlums mistake him for a recently escaped convict who has been hunting down his former associates with a guitar case filled with weapons. As the story progresses, El Mariachi falls in love with a woman who helps him hide from those who are trying to kill him, and eventually sees her die at the hands of those same men. He seeks revenge for all he has been put through. The second film, Desperado, continues with El Mariachi's quest for revenge where he finds a new love and quenches his thirst for revenge. The third and final film, Once Upon a Time in Mexico, revolves around a failed coup attempt on the President of Mexico wherein El Mariachi is the hero who saves him. El Mariachi also seeks revenge on the murderer who killed his wife.
Reception
Box office
All three films were made using Rodriguez's "Mariachi-style" of filmmaking in which "creativity, not money, is used to solve problems." Thus, all three movies have been extremely profitable. El Mariachi was made for $7,000 and went on to gross more than $2 million in its theatrical release. Desperado was made for $7 million and grossed over $24.6 million in US theaters. Once Upon a Time in Mexico was made for $29 million and grossed over $56.3 million domestically and an additional $41.8 million worldwide and holds the box office distinction for being the most improved second sequel of all-time grossing 122% more than Desperado.
