Bandidas

Bandidas
Theatrical release poster
Directed by	Joachim Rønning Espen Sandberg
Produced by	Luc Besson
Written by	Luc Besson Robert Mark Kamen
Starring	Salma Hayek Penélope Cruz Steve Zahn Sam Shepard Dwight Yoakam Ismael 'East' Carlo
Music by	Éric Serra
Cinematography	Thierry Arbogast
Edited by	Frédéric Thoraval
Production company	EuropaCorp Canal+
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date	3 February 2006
Running time	93 minutes
Country	France Mexico United States
Language	English Spanish
Budget	$35,000,000
Box office	$18,381,890

Bandidas is a 2006 French-Mexican-American Western action comedy film starring Salma Hayek and Penélope Cruz directed by Norwegian directors Joachim Rønning and Espen Sandberg and produced and written by Luc Besson. It tells the tale of two very different women in mid-19th century Mexico who become a bank robbing duo in an effort to combat a ruthless enforcer terrorising their town.

This is the first movie that Cruz and Hayek starred in together. It was a co-production among France, the United States and Mexico.

Set in Mexico during the 1850s, the film tells the story of Sara Sandoval (Salma Hayek) and María Álvarez (Penélope Cruz). María is an uneducated, poor farm-girl whose caring father is being forced off his land by a cruel U.S. land baron, named Tyler Jackson (Dwight Yoakam). Sara is the highly educated, wealthy daughter of the arrogant owner of the nearby properties, and has recently returned from Europe where she attended numerous grade schools and colleges in England, Spain, and France for several years. In one fell swoop, both María's and Sara's fathers fall under attack by the baron, (Sara's father is killed, María's is shot but survives) giving him free rein in the nearby territories. As an act of revenge, María and Sara team up to become bank robbers, stealing and giving back to the poor Mexicans who had lost their lands.

At first, the two are catty and quick to fight over the smallest matters over their different backgrounds, but under the tutelage of famed bank robber Bill Buck they learn to trust each other. During a training session, the two women are testing their strength by hanging off a cliff over a wide river, and at the last moment María swallows her pride and tells Sara she can't swim. María nearly drowns but is saved by Sara, and it is then that the two women put aside their differences and agree that, while they are not friends yet, they can at least work together as partners. María turns out to be a crack shot and, while Sara can barely hold a gun, she shows that she is an expert with throwing knives.