Mariachi, El (1992, MEX/USA) C-81m. *** D: Robert Rodriguez. Starring Carlos Gallardo, Consuelo Gómez, Jaime de Hoyos, Peter Marquardt, Reinol Martinez. Rodriguez' debut feature, which he made on a shoestring budget of $7,000 (at the incredible age of 24). A harmless guitar player (=mariachi) is mistaken for a hitman and must run from gun-wielding assassins in a Mexican village. A bit slight, but ironic throughout, well-directed and sharply edited (by Rodriguez himself), its technical finesse keeps you watching. A sleeper hit, which the director sort of remade as DESPERADO in 1995.