El lugar sin límites

The Place Without Limits (, also released as Hell Without Limits) is a 1978 Mexican drama film directed by Arturo Ripstein, produced in Mexico and based on the 1966 novel of the same name written by Chilean José Donoso. The film was selected by Mexico as its entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 51st Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. In July 2018, it was selected to be screened in the Venice Classics section at the 75th Venice International Film Festival. Plot The film opens on a man driving a truck. He stops in front of a house and begins honking the horn. Inside, Manuela (Roberto Cobo) and her daughter, known as Japonesita (Ana Martín), are asleep. Manuela panics, recognizing the honk as that of Pancho (Gonzalo Vega), a man who has attacked her before, destroying her red flamenco dress. Manuela wakes the other women in the brothel in search of red thread to mend the dress. She is sent instead to Ludovinia, an elderly, deaf woman who gives her the thread. Ludovinia reveals that Don Alejo (Fernando Soler), the town's mayor, had once taken a liking to Pancho, hiring him to drag his daughter, Moniquita, in wagon and encouraging him to go to school. As Manuela leaves, she bumps into Don Alejo, who offers to buy the brothel. Meanwhile, Pancho is at the gas station of his brother in law, Octavio. Octavio is closing the gas station because the town has been reduced to practically nothing. They complain about Don Alejo, who has been systematically buying all of the property. Don Alejo had also lent Pancho the money for his truck, and came to collect a payment. Japonesita, looking for Don Alejo, walks in after their interaction and finds Pancho crying. He attacks her for seeing him in this state, but relents. He tells her that Don Alejo is a bad man, but she refuses to believe it, insisting that Don Alejo had promised to restore the electricity to the brothel. Pancho tells her that Don Alejo was the one who had cut it in the first place.