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Once Upon a Time in Mexico

Date: Sep 25 2003

Intro

1. Learn Vocabulary - Learn some new vocabulary before you start the lesson.

2. Read and Prepare - Read the introduction and prepare to hear the audio.

In the new movie Once Upon a Time in Mexico Antonio Banderas stars as El Mariachi, a man who is haunted and scarred by tragedy. After many sad events, he has retreated into a life of isolation. He is forced out of hiding when Sands (Johnny Depp), a corrupt CIA agent, recruits the hero to thwart an assassination plot against the president of Mexico, which has been conceived by the evil cartel kingpin, Barillo (Willem Dafoe). But El Mariachi also has his own reasons for returning – blood revenge. The legend of El Mariachi reaches new heights of adventure.
Beth saw Once Upon a Time in Mexico last weekend. Listen to her tell Zach all about it.

Dialog

1. Listen and Read - Listen to the audio and read the dialog at the same time.

2. Study - Read the dialog again to see how the vocab words are used.

Zach

Beth

Zach: So Beth, did you see any good movies?

Beth: I did. I saw Once Upon a Time in Mexico and it was awesome. I definitely would recommend it.

Zach: What’s it about?

Beth: It’s about a… Well it’s a interesting story. There’s a relationship between a CIA agent and some, uh, drug cartel families in Mexico, and another guy who’s, um, kind of, sort of like a patriot, and it’s just a shoot ‘em up Mexican film, but it has all of these amazing scenes and such great humor and a great cast. So, it’s kind of an action-adventure type film, but it also has a lot of cultural relevance and cool action scenes.

Zach: Wow! That sounds awesome. So, it’s kinda like this fast-paced, uh, just really nice movie. Is there, are there subtitles?

Beth: No. It’s all in English, but, uh, there’s a really famous cast. It was Benicio Del Toro and Johnny Depp and, uh, Salma Hayek and Julio Eglesias. So – pretty well-rounded cast. And the director’s pretty well known. His name is Robert Rodriguez.

Zach: That sounds really cool. I’ll have to check it out.

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Discussion

Beth may not have all of the cast member’s names correct, but she does have a lot of excitement about Once Upon a Time in Mexico. You can hear her positive feelings about the movie in the tone of her voice. She’s done a good job of convincing both me and Zach to see the movie.
If you’re interested in movies like Once Upon a Time in Mexico, you should check out some of Robert Rodriguez’ other films, including El Mariachi, Desperado and From Dusk Till Dawn.
See you at the movies!
Anna