The Smoking Fish (1977)

El Pez que Fuma is a 1977 Venezuelan film. Considered by many to represent a peak in Venezuelan film-making, El Pez que Fuma is the name of a brothel in La Guaira, where the story takes place. Made during the "Golden Age" of the Venezuelan cinema, it is a tale of power, represented by the owner of the business, and the way of power is passed down from generation to generation, repeating the same pattern time and again: the one who rises to power has their moment of glory, and then is pushed aside in turn.

The story reflects the social reality of Venezuela, and doesn’t leave out what have become typical ingredients of the Venezuelan national cinema - the slums, prostitutes, nudity, bad language, delinquency - but does not make them its prime players at the centre of the story. It also manages to incorporate novel elements, such as the symbolism of the music that accompanies the images and puts across the feelings of the protagonists as much as the situations themselves, besides representing a very typical aspect of the Venezuelan culture.

Synopsis

La Garza is the name of the owner of the business, and, although she is the one who is really in control of the brothel and its workers, she allows her lovers to believe that they in some way are running things, including herself by giving them control over the administration of the Pez que Fuma, the money and anything else they want.

Actors