This article proposes a reinterpretation of Cadena perpetua (Arturo Ripstein, 1979) as a paradigm of modern Latin American noir, where Luis Buñuel's naturalist legacy - evident in the impulse-image - converges with a critique of the Mexican post-revolutionary state. Through this analysis, we will examine how Ripstein subverts the codes of classical noir cinema to expose a crisis of masculinity. The film's circular narrative structure, recurring flashbacks, characters trapped in elementary impulses, and the system itself as antagonist reveal a profound pessimism. The article concludes that Ripstein not only deconstructs the pulp hero myth (embodied in the antihero Tarzán Lira) but forges a cinema where social criticism emerges through the perversion of genre.
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