We have seen some great Mexican cinema over the past year. In the Mercado here you can buy almost any film on DVD for 25 pesos (~2 dollars). Or if you like a bargain the vendor will always offer you 3 DVDs for 75. That’s right, you do the math.
Starting in 1992 Mexican directors as diverse as Alfonso Arau (Como Agua Para Chocolate or Like Water for Chocolate) and Robert Rodriquez (El Mariachi which he remade as Desperado with Antonio Banderas) found commercial success in the United States. The international success of films such as Amores Perros (2000) by Alejandro González Iñárritu and Y Tu Mamá También (2001) by Alfonso Cuarón helped define the new era of Mexican cinema. The Cannes Film Festival last week honored Mexico with the screening of three films. Maybe to be expected all three selections dealt in some way with the subject of the violent drug war in this country.
So for your viewing pleasure, and in addition to the films mentioned above, here is a short and diverse list of my favorites of Mexican cinema.
Rudo y Cursi (2009) by Carlos Caurón – Tells the story of two brothers working on a banana plantation, but with dreams of becoming big-time fútbol stars. Dramatic, funny, profane, tragic, and muy Mexicana.
El Estudiante (2009) by Roberto Girault – Shot in the stunning city of Guanajuato, an elderly man enrolls at the University and his life intersects with those of five young students during the stage production of Don Quixote de la Mancha.
El Santo Contra las Momias de Guanajuato (1972) – El Santo (The Saint) is an iconic masked Mexican wrestler superhero who solves crimes and battles evil wherever it is to be found. In this case evil is found in Guanajuato among the mummies. This film is more Mexican than tacos.
Arráncame la Vida (2010) by Roberto Sneider – Set during the post revolution Mexico of the 30′s and 40′s, this sweeping love story examines power, love, sex, betrayal, and revenge. The title translates roughly as “Tear This Life Out”.
El Angel Exterminador (1962) by Luis Buñel – One of the best films by one of the best directors of all time regardless of nationality. Guests at a dinner party strangely find themselves unable to leave and while trapped for days their true human natures are eventually revealed.
Frida (2002) by Julie Taymor – While not technically a product of Mexican cinema this is the story of the life of artist Frida Khalo and her muralist husband Diego Rivera. With the incredible Salma Hayek in front of and behind the camera (actor/producer).
El Crimen del Padre Amaro (2002) by Carlos Carrera – The actor Gael Garcia Bernal (The Motorcycle Diaries, Amores Perros) is amazing in this story of a young, small-town priest tempted by a beautiful girl.
Sexo, Pudor y Lágrimas (Sex, Shame, and Tears) (1999) by Antonio Serrano – The vivid, awake world of two young couples and their friends in Mexico City with all the complications.
El Padrecito (1964) by Miguel M. Delgado – No list of Mexican cinema would be complete without one of the 55 comedies starring Cantinflas who, like Charlie Chaplin, represented the good and innocent everyman.
This list is just a taste of the many wonderful films from and about Mexico. I hope you find one of these, maybe on Netflix, and it inspires you to watch others. As for me I am almost ashamed to admit I have not yet seen Presunto Culpable (2011) a documentary about the Mexican judicial system gone wrong, Oscar-nominated Biutiful (2010) directed by Iñárritu and starring Jarvier Bardem, and Revolutión (2010) which is 10 short films by 10 different directors who take various and contemporary views on the Mexican Revolution so far.
Maybe that 3 DVD special at the Mercado sounds pretty good after all.
Another I’d highly recommend is El Violin (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0451966/), a small but stunning drama that tells a nearly timeless story of oppression in Latin America. I found it at a Blockbuster in Mexico last year, so I bet you can too.