By turns hilarious, soulful, gritty and sexy, this lively crime drama was created by 23-year-old director Robert Rodriguez of Austin, Texas, for a budget of 7,000.

El Mariachi makes the bloated movies of Steven Seagal and other American martial arts stars look as lazy and cluttered as the tag-team match at a tanktown wrestling arena. This movie means business.

Although crude, it deftly balances kinetic action sequences with hip awareness, only occasionally succumbing to moves that seem self-conscious or affected.

This $7,000 film is one that shows what passion and talent can do and how to bring a story to the screen properly with the right folks involved.