CRY MACHO

Texas, 1979 – Mike Milo (Clint Eastwood) is a former rodeo star, forced to retire after an incident where his horse fell on his leg. He arrives late to his job and is chewed out by his boss, Howard Polk (Dwight Yoakam).

Howard later talks to Mike about hiring him to travel to Mexico and bring him his 13-year-old son Rafael, or “Rafo” (Eduardo Minett). Although reluctant, Mike takes on the job. He travels and meets Howard’s ex-wife Leta (Fernanda Urrejola) and her thugs Aurelio (Horacio Garcia Rojas) and Lucas (Ivan Hernandez). Leta informs Mike that Rafo is a troublemaker and will most likely be somewhere that a cockfight is being held.

Indeed, Mike finds Rafo at a cockfight where he puts in his pet rooster Macho as a contender. The police break up the scene, and Rafo hides. Mike speaks to the boy, who thinks he is one of his mother’s lovers and was sent by her, but he mentions his work with Rafo’s father, and he becomes more interested. Mike buys Rafo a meal and talks him into joining him in going to Texas.

The two go back to Leta’s home so Rafo can get his belongings. Leta hears this and laughs, telling Mike that Rafo ran off on him. She invites Mike up to her room in an attempt to seduce him, but he declines. Angered, Leta orders Aurelio and Lucas to force Mike out. After he leaves, she orders the two to follow him.

Mike starts to make his way out of town until he is startled by Macho jumping out at him from the backseat. He swerves off-road but manages to brake in time. Mike looks in the back to find Rafo having stowed away with him. Although Mike isn’t having it, Rafo takes his wallet and basically forces him to let him go back to Texas with him.

The two go to a diner for lunch, where Rafo attempts to drink tequila, but Mike won’t let him. When Mike goes to call Howard and let him know he has Rafo, the boy takes Mike’s beer. When they start to leave, Aurelio shows up and attempts to take Rafo with him. Mike punches Aurelio in the face, so he tries to get the nearby locals to attack Mike by saying that he is kidnapping his son. Rafo turns the tables and points the finger at Aurelio and saying he is an abuser, showing the welts on his back as proof. The locals then proceed to beat up Aurelio while Mike and Rafo get away.

Mike and Rafo briefly stop on the road and talk, where Rafo talks about how his mother always had strange men coming in and out of their house that he would be forced to listen to. Moments later, their truck gets stolen by thieves. They walk all the way into town and get new clothes before finding an abandoned car. The pair drive until they come across a cafe run by a woman named Marta (Natalia Traven) as they find that authorities are looking for them. Rafo tells Marta about their situation, and she agrees to shelter them. However, Mike stays in a building with a holy shrine, which makes Rafo uncomfortable about trying to sleep in there. Before going to sleep, Mike tells Rafo about how he lost his wife and son in a car accident a while back.

During their time there, Mike and Rafo become acquainted with Marta’s family, and Mike shows Rafo how to ride a horse like in the rodeo. Mike gets in touch with Howard and learns that his main motive for asking Mike to get Rafo was to get Leta to give him half his shares in investments that he made a while ago. Despite Howard claiming he really does want to be with his son, Mike is upset with this news but keeps this info from Rafo. The two continue to spend time with Marta and her family, and Mike begins to develop feelings for her.

In the morning, Mike sees the authorities that are looking for him and Rafo, and the two abruptly leave Marta and her family. Two officers pursue them, forcing Mike to hide for a bit. He admits to Rafo what Howard told him, and Rafo gets angry with Mike. The cops eventually find them and turn the car inside out to look for drugs. They find nothing and Rafo pays one of them off to leave them alone.

Mike continues driving Rafo to the border, but they are found by Aurelio, who runs them off the road. He holds them at gunpoint but is startled when Macho jumps out at him, and Mike disarms and incapacitates him.

Mike takes Aurelio’s car and finishes driving Rafo to the border. The two part ways, but Rafo lets Mike keep Macho before he goes to join Howard. Mike ends up staying in Mexico and goes back to Marta’s home, where he is seen dancing with her.