Too bleak for me. Beautiful black and white but claustrophobically grim, this Mexican drama centres on two ageing prostitutes who struggle to make enough money to live. They are exploited by everyone and do the same to others in order to survive. The only true connection seems to be the friendship, or perhaps commonality, between them.

Most distressing are the scenes with the elderly mother of one of them. She is voiceless, helpless, left alone blindfolded or wheeled around the streets to beg. We can see that this is the pitiless future for the two women. Men can come and go but there is no way out for them or any women. It was a hard slog to get through to the end.

Bechdel test – pass
3 stars