Mexico
 |
 |
 |
|
|
||||||||||
| Home |
|
|
|
|
|
|
||||||||||
| PRE-COLUMBIAN ERA: | |||||||
|
RETORNO A AZTLÁN (In Necuepaliztli in Aztlan) (Return to Aztlan) Director: Juan Mora Catlett Writer: Juan Mora Catlett Cinematography: Toni Kuhn Music: Antonio Zepeda 1991. 90 minutes. Setting: Mexico, 16th century Language: Náhuatl Availability: not yet on DVD |
When a long drought visits Moctezuma's empire, he sends a retinue of
soldiers, and the peasant Ollin, on a treacherous journey
back to Aztlán, the mythic land of their forefathers, to appease the
forgotten goddess Coatlicue.
Hopefully this film will be on DVD some day. The director's next film was Erendira Ikikunari (see below, under "Spanish Invasion"). |
|||||
|
KINGS OF THE SUN Director: J. Lee Thompson Writers: Elliott Arnold, James R. Webb 1963. 107 minutes.Rated G. Setting: Yucatan peninsula; North America Language: English Availability: DVD 
|
A Mayan kingdom is under attack from another Mayan kingdom, their neighbors in Chichen Itza, who wield metal swords. When our Mayans' king is killed, his son Balam decides to flee across the sea, defying the belief that they will sail over the edge of the earth. At the Yucatan shore the Mayans forcibly recruit a fishing village to provide boats and flee with them. They sail across the Gulf of Mexico to an unnamed land, where they settle and build a pyramid to their gods. They also encounter the local inhabitants, unnamed in the movie, who live in teepees and hunt buffalos. The Mayans capture their chief, Black Eagle (played by Yul Brunner), but against the priest's counsels, Balam decides not to sacrifice Black Eagle, and lets him go free. The two nations begin to live side-by-side and learn each other's customs. When the enemy from Mexico finally arrives, the Mayans and Black Eagle's people join forces to defeat them. Victorious, Balam gives his people the option of returning to their Mexican homeland or remaining at their new settlement, where human sacrifice will be banned. Thus do the Mayans become North Americans. Colorful sets and costumes highlight this improbable, ahistorical sword-and-sandal epic from Hollywood. The main actors are all ridiculously white, though most of the extras look Mexican or Indian. | |||||
 |
APOCALYPTO Director: Mel Gibson Writers: Mel Gibson, Farhad Safinia Cinematography: Dean Semler Music: James Horner 2006. 139 min. Rated R. 1.85:1 Setting: Yucatan, early 1500s Language: Yucateco Availability: DVD
|
Jaguar Paw is the son of a tribal chief in the rainforests of southern Mexico. Their tribe is brutally attacked by the elite Mayans of the great cities and pyramids, who must feed their bloodthirsty gods. Jaguar Paw hides his wife and baby in a well, but is himself captured. Led up to a pyramid with his friends, Jaguar Paw is on the point of being sacrificed, but he escapes, and his frenetic flight from the soldiers to return to his family comprises the bulk of the action in this fast-paced adventure flick. Viewer advisory: this film contains excessive, gratuitous, disturbing gore and violence. Not for the squeamish. The film is spoken in a Yucatec dialect of Mayan, played mostly by indigenous actors from Mexico (but Rudy Youngblood, who plays Jaguar Paw, is Cherokee and one-fourth African). | |||||
| THE SPANISH INVASION: | |||||||
|
CABEZA DE VACA Director: Nicolás Echevarría Writers: Nicolás Echevarría, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Xavier Robles, Guillermo Sheridan Cinematography: Guillermo Navarro Music: Mario Lavista 1991. 111 minutes. Rated R. Setting: Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Texas, Mexico, 1528-1536 Languages: faked indigenous languages; Spanish Availability: DVD (out of print)
|
The bizarre and disturbing true story of the Spanish explorer Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca, who was shipwrecked off the coast of Texas and had to learn to communicate and live with the Karankawa Indians, who migrated seasonally between the mainland and Galveston Island in the Gulf of Mexico. Cabeza de Vaca was forced to learn their native healing arts. He later escaped and lived with the Coahuiltecan Indians farther inland, and over the next eight years traveled through Mexico. The film is based on the middle section of Cabeza de Vaca's own memoirs, Naufragios (1555), available in many modern translations. Accuracy takes a back seat in this picture: the indigenous languages are simply made-up words, and the costumes were based on the engravings in Theodore de Bry's The Great Voyages (1590-1634) which was in turn a hodge-podge of different cultures mixed together indiscriminately. The results, however, are spectacular, as the film is unforgettable. If you like Cabeza de Vaca, you should also check out Jerico (Venezuela) and Hans Staden (Brazil). [Note: Guillermo del Toro was the makeup artist for this film before he hit the bigtime with Hellboy and Pan's Labyrinth.] | |||||
|
THE CAPTIVE GOD Directors: William S. Hart (uncredited), Charles Swickard Writer: Monte Katterjohn Cinematography: Clyde de Vinna Set Design: M. Doner 1916. 54 minutes. 1.37:1. B&W. Setting: Aztec village, 16th century Language: English Availability: None. Print exists at George Eastman House.
|
In this silent film from the U.S., a Spanish child washes ashore in a 16th-century Aztec village. The leader names him
Chiapa and raises him. When Chiapa is older he becomes the new leader. One day a
war-like tribe attacks the village and captures Chiapa. They hold him captive in
preparation for sacrifice to the gods. While incarcerated he falls in love with the rival
chief's daughter. When she learns that he is to die, she goes to Chiapa's village to
warn them. A battle ensues as they struggle to get their leader back, but in
the end they succeed and peace is restored. The Cast: Dorothy Dalton as Tecolote. Herbert Farjean as Cacoma. William S. Hart as Chiapa. Bob Kortman as Tuyos. Enid Markey as Lolomi. Dorcas Matthews as Maya. Robert McKim as Montezuma. P.D. Tabler as Mexitili.
|
|||||
|
CHILAM BALAM Director: Íñigo de Martino Writer: Íñigo de Martino, Adolfo Torres Portillo Cinematography: Alex Phillips Music: Raúl Lavista 1955. 94 minutes. Setting: Chichen Itza, during the conquest Language: Spanish Availability: None
|
Based on the play, Conquista y fundación, by Carlos Buendía Lara,
which was in turn based on the Chilam Balam, a Mayan almanac of history,
astrology, medicine, and lore written in Yucateco (one of the Mayan languages).
The movie evidently focused on the Spanish conquest of the Yucatan peninsula.
|
|||||
|
ERENDIRA, IKIKUNARI (Eréndira, la indomable) (Erendira, the Undefeatable) Director/writer: Juan Mora Catlett Cinematography: Toni Kuhn Music: Andres Sanchez 2007. 117 minutes. Setting: Michoacán, 1500s Language: Purépecha; occasional Spanish Availability: DVD
|
The Purepecha people of Michoacan receive news of strange gods who have defeated
the Aztecs to the north. The Purepechas debate about whether to ally
themselves with the new gods and give them the gold they seek, or to
resist them. A civil war breaks out between the two factions. But one girl,
Erendira (played by Xochiquetzal Rodríguez), captures the new gods' horse
and rides into battle against them. This film is a visual feast for those
who like the bizarre and exotic. From the director of Retorno a Aztlán.
The DVD includes a 30-minute making-of feature and production stills.
|
|||||
|
HIJOS DEL VIENTO: Entre la luz y las tinieblas (Sons of the Wind: Between light and darkness) Director: José Miguel Juárez Music: Pablo Arellano 2000. 93 minutes. Setting: Tenochtitlan, 1519 Language: Spanish Availability: DVD-PAL (no subtitles)
|
Two shipwrecked Spaniards are captured by the Aztecs, but when their temporary escape coincides with a shooting star, the Aztecs take the blond newcomers for gods. Rodrigo falls in love with Tizcuitl, daughter of an important personage of the Aztec royal court. The Spaniards befriend Moctezuma and attempt to establish an alliance before Hernan Cortez arrives with the Spanish army. But war is inevitable, and the Aztec defeat is portrayed with pathos. The film is basically a throwback to old-fasioned sword-and-sandal epics, with mostly white actors playing all the major roles. Still, great sets and costumes, well-staged battles, and a more sympathetic view of the Indians make this Spain-Mexico co-production a great improvement upon comparable Hollywood films such as The Captain from Castile and Kings of the Sun. | |||||
 |
LA OTRA CONQUISTA (The Other Conquest) Director: Salvador Carrasco Writer: Salvador Carrasco Cinematography: Arturo de la Rosa Music: Samuel Zyman 1999. 105 min. Rated R. 1.85:1 Setting: Tenochtitlan, 1520s-30s Language: Spanish, Nahuatl Availability: DVD
|
Topiltzin (compellingly played by Damián Delgado), the illegitimate son of Moctezuma, is one of the few survivors of Hernan Cortez's invasion. An earnest priest makes it his personal mission to convert the recalcitrant Topiltzin, renaming him Tomas. Topiltzin's half-sister Tecuichpo (Elpidia Carrillo) plays along with the Europeans, learning Spanish and accepting Cortez as her conquering groom, but Topiltzin resists, enduring torture and brainwashing to preserve his own faith and identity, and he secretly prays to his old gods. This is one of the most popular films in Mexican history, and was nominated for six Ariel Awards (won for Best Makeup). Damian Delgado is spectacular, as he was in Men with Guns (Guatemala), and Elpidia Carrillo is also excellent. Her other Indian roles are in La hija del puma (Guatemala) and Nuevo Mundo (below). | |||||
|
LA VIRGEN MORENA (The Brown Virgin) Director: Gabriel Soria Writers: Father Carlos M. Heredia (plot), Alberto Santander (dialog), Clear A. Corona Blake Cinematography: Agustín Martínez Solares Music: Julian Carillo, Jorge Perez 1942. 95 minutes. B&W. 1.37:1 Setting: Tepeyac, 1531 Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
Besides telling the familiar story of Juan Diego (José Luis Jiménez) and
the apparition of the
Virgin, this film tells a parallel story: the Aztec prince Temoch (Abel
Salazar)
captures Blanca, daughter of the viceroy, in order to forstall further
attacks on his people. Blanca is treated well at Temoch's palace and
learns to appreciate Aztec culture. The two stories converge when the
Virgen of Guadalupe heals Bernardino, Juan Diego's uncle, whom Temoch had
wounded with an arrow because of his conversion to Christianity.
Bernardino shows his miraculous cure to the bishop, and Temoch is summoned
to testify to that he had indeed wounded him. Juan Diego then arrives with
the flowers created by Guadalupe and the image of the Virgen emblazoned
on his pancho, to which everyone, even Temoch, kneels. Thus the film
presents the miracle of Guadalupe as an act of peace between whites and
Indians--but only after the Spanish have massacred what remained
of Temoch's people. Abel Salazar's wooden acting and the phony sets make
this movie sometimes laughably bad, but, as the earliest in-print film
about the conquista, it is definitely worth checking out.
|
|||||
| 17th to 19th CENTURY: | |||||||
 |
KINO La leyenda del Padre Negro (Kino: Legend of the Black Priest) Director: Felipe Cazals Writers: Felipe Cazals, Gerardo de la Torre, Tomás Pérez Turrent Cinematography: Ángel Goded Music: Amparo Rubín 1993. 109 minutes. Setting: Northwestern Mexico and Baja California, 1681-1711 Language: Spanish Availability: DVD
|
Based on the life of Eusebio Francisco Kino, a maverick priest and cartographer who was hired to accompany a mission to New Spain to create maps of unexplored territories. Padre Kino clashes with Spanish soldiers and church authorities as he attempts to improve relations between Europeans and the naturales. His attempts at pacifism are not always successful, however. The film has excellent acting and cinematography and an award-winning score, though it is not quite as riveting as similar films on this topic, such as (The Mission, Jericó). Padre Kino's life was also dramatized in the American film Mission to Glory, which was far inferior to this Mexican production. | |||||
 |
NUEVO MUNDO (New World) Director: Gabriel Retes Writer: Pedro F. Miret Cinematography: Daniel López Music: Raúl Lavista 1978. 95 minutes. Setting: Mexico, 1600s Languages: Spanish, Náhuatl Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
This film shows the Catholic Church brutally oppressing the natives of Mexico with forced conversion, labor, beatings, and torture. When the natives rebel, one priest comes up with a ruse to depict the Virgin Mary as dark-skinned and Aztec-looking in order to appeal to the natives. Unaware of the priest's role in the darker portrayal, church officials punish the natives for their blasphemy. Note to non-Spanish speakers: the DVD does not have English subtitles for the Spanish dialogue. It only has Spanish subtitles for the Nahuatl dialogue. | |||||
 |
MACARIO Director: Roberto Gavaldón Writers: Roberto Gavaldón, Emilio Carballido Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Raúl Lavista 1960. 91 minutes. B&W. Setting: Mexico during the time of the Inquisition Language: Spanish Availability: DVD
|
Macario is a poor Indian woodcutter struggling to provide for his family. On the Day of the Dead he is disenchanted with the ostentation of the rich and the death-devotion of the poor. He wishes that just one time he could eat a whole turkey by himself. His wife steals a turkey and cooks it for him, and Macario takes it into the woods to eat it by himself. There he is tempted by the Devil, Jesus, and finally Death, who gives him the power to cure the sick. Allegory ensues. Macario is presumably an Indian, though he doesn't look particularly Indian, and there is not much Indian culture shown. This film is mainly about the rich and the poor, and it could easily be applied to other cultures. Based on the story, "The Third Guest," by B. Traven. | |||||
| THE REVOLUTION (1910-1919): | |||||||
|
EL INDIO Director: Armando Vargas de la Maza Script: Celestino Gorostiza, Armando Vargas de la Maza Cinematography: Jack Draper Music: Silvestre Revueltas 1938. 85 minutes. B&W. 1.37:1 Setting: unnamed Indian village in the mountains, circa 1900-1910 Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
Loosely based on El Indio, the 1935 novel by by Gregorio López
y Fuentes, first winner of the Premio Nacional de Literatura, this film
show daily life in an Indian community in the years leading
up to the Revolution of 1910. A group of white men looking for gold on
Indian land recruits Julian, a young man of the community, to be their guide.
After a fruitless search the whites try to torture the secrets out of him.
Julian escapes, but only by leaping off a cliff and injuring his legs.
Crippled and unable to work, he loses his fiancee Maria (Dolores Camarillo)
to another young man, Felipe (played by Pedro Armendáriz).
This rivalry between Julian and Felipe forms the central plot of the film,
although it was only one of many stories in the novel (wherein all the
characters went unnamed). Unfortunately the political, revolutionary aspects
of the novel are muffled, as is the role of the nahual (witch
doctor) and his war of spells. Disappointing as an adaptation, the film is
nevertheless one of the best early attempts to portray the Indians in their
own element, with whites playing smaller roles. We see the Indians at
work and at play, with traditional costumes and a variety of dances and
spectacles, including the famous volador or patlancuahuitl,
in which four men swing around a pole on ropes. About the DVD: The DVD I have seen (with the black and white cover) has very poor video and audio quality, no subtitles, and a glitch which sends the viewer back to the beginning after the first chapter (you have to start again by selecting chapter 2.) There is another edition from Vina Entertainment (with the color cover) that might be better, but I haven't seen it. Yet another edition pairs El Indio with Alias el Alacrán.
|
|||||
 |
CASTA DIVINA (Divine Cast) Director: Julián Pastor Writer: Eduardo Luján Cinematography: José Ortiz Ramos Music: Joaquín Gutiérrez Heras Editing: Jose W. Bustos 1977. 120 minutes. 1.85:1. Setting: Yucatan Language: Spanish Availability: Region 1 & 4 DVD (no subtitles)
|
The saga of a wealthy hacienda during the Revolution. Wilfrido, the
hacendado, sends his son to fight the huaches (outsiders), and also sends his
older, weaker Mayan workers, keeping the stronger ones to protect his own
land. Meanwhile, Wilfrido also philanders with the Mayan women, causing
conflict within his own family as well as the workforce, populated as it
is with
his illegitimate children. His arrogance sows the seeds of his own
destruction. Casta divina intersperses quotes from the book, Mi
actuación revolucionaria en Yucatán, by Salvador Alvarado, the
military commander who liberated Yucatan and prohibited abuse of the
Indians. An indigenous cast adds authenticity to this powerful historical
drama. Sinopsis en español: Crónica de la guerra de castas que tuvo lugar en Yucatán en el siglo XIX, donde la tierra y las personas eran propiedad de los hacendados, quienes se autonombraban "casta divina." Por un lado, el general Salvador Alvarado organiza la revolución; por otro, los hacendados arman al coronel Ortiz Argumedo para defender su autonomía. Don Wilfrido, uno de los amos, no vacila en enviar a su hijo varón a luchar para conservar sus riquezas y prebendas, entre ellas el derecho de pernada. Finalmente, la revolución vence y los poderosos huyen abandonando su propiedades.
|
|||||
 |
ZAPATA: AMOR EN REBELDIA) (Zapata: Love in Rebellion Director: Walter Doehner Cinematography: Luis Ávila Music: Ricardo Martín 2004. 261 minutes. 1.85:1. Setting: Morelos and Mexico City, 1909-1919 Language: Morelos and Mexico City Availability: DVD
|
A telenovela on the life of Emiliano Zapata (1879-1919), the mestizo horse trainer whose
passion for justice drove him to lead an agrarian revolution against the wealthy
hacendados to return land to the Indians. The major events of Zapata's revolutionary
career are covered, spiced up with a fictional love interest with Rosa, daughter of an
hacendado, who falls in love with Zapata and keeps turning up
at improbable moments to help him. Indians appear only as background characters.
|
|||||
| THE FILMS OF EMILIO "EL INDIO" FERNANDEZ: | |||||||
|
JANITZIO Director: Carlos Navarro Writers: Luis Márquez, Robert Quigley Cinematography: Lauron Draper Music: Francisco Domínguez 1934. 62 minutes. 1.37:1. B&W Setting: Lago Patzcuaro, Michoacan, 1930s? Language: Spanish Availability: none
|
Janitzio (pronounced "Janicho" in the film) is an island in Lago Patzcuaro in the southern
state of Michoacan. It is occupied by Indians (the P'urépecha, but called by the Spanish
name Tarascans in this film) who make their living by fishing,
and selling their fish to the local buyer, Don Pablo, who gives them good prices for their
fish. After Don Pablo sells his business, the new buyer, Don Manuel, greatly reduces
the prices he gives for fish. When the fishers object, he whips one of them. In comes
Sirahuén (played by Emilio Fernández), who defends the other fisher and attacks Manuel with
a knife. Sirahuén is arrested, and while he is in jail, Manuel kidnaps Sirahuén's wife,
Eréndira (Teresa Orozco), and takes her to the city. When Sirahuén is released from jail,
he rescues his wife and
kills Manuel. And yet he still feels compelled to obey the Tarascan law that demands
that his wife be stoned for succumbing to a white man. Torn between love of his wife and fidelity to
tradition, he seeks out the retired Don Pablo, who advises him to forgive his wife, since
she was taken against her will. The couple return to Janitzio to resume their old life, but
the rest of the community decides that Eréndira must be punished, and they stone her to death.
Janitzio is crudely made, with overly dramatic music and underly dramatic knife fights. It is most famous for featuring Emilio Fernández in his first acting role, before he went on to become one of Mexico's greatest directors. Emilio remade this film in the forties as Maria Candelaria and a few years later remade it again as Maclovia. I don't know why Janitzio is not available on DVD, but it does turn up on Spanish television now and then. No subtitles, but the slow, clear dialogue makes it ideal for people learning Spanish.
Sinopsis en español:
|
|||||
 
|
|||||||
 |
MARÍA CANDELARIA (Xochimilco) Director: Emilio "El Indio" Fernandez Writer: Mauricio Magdaleno Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Francisco Domínguez, Rodolfo Halffter 1943. 101 minutes. B&W. 1.37:1 Setting: Xochimilco (a town in Mexico's Federal District), 1909 Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
Maria Candelaria (Dolores del Río) and Lorenzo Rafael (Pedro Armendáriz) are a poor Indian
couple waiting to
get married. The couple and their pet pig endure hostility from their
neighbors because Maria Candelaria's mother allegedly brought shame upon
their community. Don Damián, the shop owner, is particularly malevolent towards them,
and shoots their pet pig when Lorenzo can't pay the 15 pesos he owes him. When Maria
falls ill from a mosquito bite, Lorenzo breaks into Don Damián's store to get quinine to
relieve her fever, and while he's there he also swipes a dress for their wedding. Maria
Candelaria recovers, but Lorenzo is sentenced to a year in jail. Destitute without Lorenzo's
support, Maria reluctantly accepts a painter's offer to paint her portrait. When the
painter tries to persuade her to pose nude, she runs away, but the painter completes a
nude portrait anyway using one of his servants as a model. One of Maria Candelaria's hostile
neighbors sees the nude portrait and initiates a lynching, complete with torches and rocks
and church bells. Beautifully filmed and acted, this well-meaning movie expresses plenty
of sympathy for the Indians, but doesn't show much of their culture. We do see a
bendición de los animales and professional rivalry between an aguacera
(medicine woman) and a white doctor. Maria Candelaria
won both the Grand Prize and the Best Cinematography award at the Cannes Film Festival in
1946. The film is also known as Xochimilco, the section of Mexico's Federal District
where the story unfolds.
Sinopsis en español: |
|||||
|
|||||||
 |
RIO ESCONDIDO (Hidden River) Director: Emilio "El Indio" Fernandez Writers: Mauricio Magdaleno (script), Emilio Fernandez (plot) Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Editing: Gloria Schoemann Music: Francisco Dominguez, Luis Sandi 1947. 96 minutes. 1.37:1 Setting: Rio Escondido (small town) Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
Rosaura Salazar, a young, idealistic teacher played by Maria Felix, is summoned to the
National Palace by the President himself (presumably Miguel Alemán, president from 1946 to
1952, though he is not shown). The president assigns Rosaura the task of bringing
education to tiny town
of Rio Escondido (apparently a fictional place). Upon arriving Rosaura finds the town to
be desolate and hostile. She comes across a pregnant woman dying of typhus and watches as
the doctor delivers the baby. The mother dies, and Rosaura takes in the baby and the two
older children. Rosaura finds the school occupied by the mayor's horses, and also learns
that the horses get the best water in town while the peasants suffer from a draught. The
mayor (or presidente municipal), played by Carlos López Moctezuma, is
violent and arrogant, and constantly surrounded by lackeys to sustain his tyranny over the
town. When the mayor falls ill himself, the doctor, who has
befriended Rosaura, extracts two promises before he will treat him: to remove
the horses from the school and allow Rosaura to teach there; and to provide him with the
necessary medicine to treat the people of Rio Escondido. The mayor agrees both promises,
and Rosaura begins teaching a roomful of children, starting her lesson with Benito Juarez,
whose portrait hangs on the wall, and whom Rosaura describes as "un indio como ustedes."
In time the mayor falls in love with Rosaura and proposes marriage, and she rejects him
haughtily and even condemns him in front of her class. The mayor then becomes more
tyrannical, and when the well dries up he refuses to share the water reserved for his
horses. The boy whom Rosaura adopted sneaks in to steal water, and the mayor shoots him,
leading to the final confrontation between teacher and mayor.
Rio Escondido is one of Fernandez's most overtly didactic films. Beginning with the narrator's history lesson at the National Palace, the film is almost a parody of the director's own style. Many critics dismissed the film as propaganda for the government, and also objected to Rosaura's saint-like perfection. However, the film features some of Gabriel Figueroa's finest cinematography, stark, iconic images that cast that mysteriously timeless quality upon every story he films. Adding to the visual feast is a series of woodcuts among the opening credits by the great revolutionary artist Leopoldo Méndez (1902-1969).
Sinopsis en español:
|
|||||
|
|||||||
|
|||||||
 |
LA PERLA (The Pearl) Director: Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Writers: John Steinbeck, Emilio Fernández, Jack Wagner Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Antonio Díaz Conde 1947. 85 minutes. 1.37:1 Setting: a small fishing village Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
In a poor fishing village, an Indian couple living in a straw hut find
their baby bitten by a scorpion. The white doctor refuses to treat the
poor couple, but a curandera helps the child. Later the father, Quino
(Pedro Armendáriz), finds a large pearl in the ocean that may be worth
millions. Suddenly everyone wants to be friends with the poor couple,
including the pearl-collecting doctor. As greed and frenzy inflame the
village, Quino and his wife (María Elena Marqués) must flee, and eventually
they are hunted like animals. La perla is one of Emilio Fernandez's
greatest films, from his most successful period. Based on a short novel
by John Steinbeck (who also wrote the screenplay). Steinbeck's fable-like
tale works perfectly with the Fernandez-Figueroa style (too bad they didn't
collaborate more often!). Available on its own DVD or paired with another
Armendariz classic, Distinto amanecer (neither version is subtitled).
|
|||||
 |
MACLOVIA Director: Emilio "El Indio" Fernández Writer: Mauricio Magdaleno Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Antonio Díaz Conde 1948. 105 minutes. B&W. 1.37:1 Setting: Janitzio (an island in Lake Patzcuaro in Michoacán), 1914 Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
Based on a Michoacán legend told by Luis Márquez. José María (played by Pedro Armendariz) is a poor, illiterate fisherman in love with Maclovia (Maria Felix), daughter of the chief of the Indians on the island of Janitzio. When the chief forbids them from seeing each other, José María goes to school to learn to write, so he can send a letter to Maclovia. When a violent, corrupt sergeant desires Maclovia, the father relents, deciding it is better for Maclovia to marry José María to protect her from the sargeant. Beautifully filmed, if overly preachy. This movie probably reflects the mestizaje movement of the 1940s and 1950s, which sought to integrate Indians into mainstream Mexican society. This film is more-or-less a remake of Maria Candelaria. | |||||
 |
REBELIÓN DE LOS COLGADOS (The Rebellion of the Hanged) Directors: Alfredo B. Crevenna, Emilio Fernández Writer: John Bright (uncredited) Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Antonio Díaz Conde 1954. 85 minutes. B&W. 1.37:1 Setting: Chiapas, 1910. Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
A chamula Indian (Pedro Armendariz) contracts himself to a logging company in order to pay for his wife's appendicitis. Although his wife dies before the operation, Candido is still legally bound to work as a semi-slave in the jungles of Chiapas with his two sons and his sister. Working under brutal conditions, the obreros are sometimes punished by hanging by their wrists all night long. When they can no longer stand such injustice, they rebel. Based on the 1936 novel by B. Traven, this film is quite explicit in its violence and must have shocked audiences in 1954. Nevertheless, it won four Silver Ariel awards. Juan Luis Buñuel remade the movie in 1986. | |||||
| 20th CENTURY: | |||||||
 |
ANIMAS TRUJANO El hombre importante Director: Ismael Rodríguez Writers: Ismael Rodríguez, Ricardo Garibay, Vicente Oroná Jr. Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Raúl Lavista 1961. 104 minutes. 2.35:1. B&W. Setting: small town in Oaxaca Languages: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
The titular character is a petty, jealous, drunk who wishes to be the mayordomo, or sponsor, of an annual festival, an honor usually taken by the richest man in town. Animas can't hold down a job, so he tries to make money by gambling, but has no luck. Only after he sells his youngest daughter does he gain enough money to attain the hollow honor of mayordomo. Animas is played by popular Japanese actor Toshiru Mifune (Hell in the Pacific). Sporting plenty of dance and music indigenous to the beautiful state of Oaxaca, Animas Trujano won a Golden Globe for best foreign film. Based on the novel by Rogelio Barriga Rivas. (Pictured at left is the VHS version). | |||||
 |
BALUN CANAN Director/writer: Benito Alazraki Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Gustavo César Carrión Editing: Carlos Savage 1977. 117 minutes. Setting: Comitan, Chiapas Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
The film explores the tensions between whites and Chontal Indians on an hacienda in Comitán (a town
in Chiapas) during the agrarian reforms of President Lazaro Cardenas in the 1930s. The
widowed owner of the land, Zoraida, complies with the law, allowing the Chontales--her former
servants--to cultivate the land for their own benefit, and she provides a teacher, the
illegitimate mestizo son of her brother, to teach the Chontal children. But Zoraida remains
arrogant, and the teacher abuses his students. After this abuse, the Chontales stop working,
and put a curse on Zoraida's son.
Based on the 1957 novel by Rosario Castellanos (1925-1974), one of Mexico's greatest writers. "Balún Canán," translated either as "Nine Stars" or "Nine Guardians," was the old Mayan name for Comitán, where Castellanos grew up and experienced the agrarian reform firsthand. Her second novel, Oficio de tinieblas, was also made into a film (see below). Both are available from Gandhi, a Barnes & Noble type of store in Mexico.
Sinopsis en español:
|
|||||
 
|
|||||||
 |
LA CABEZA VIVIENTE (The Living Head) Director: Chano Urueta Writers: Federico Curiel, Adolfo López Portillo Cinematography: José Ortiz Ramos Music: Gustavo César Carrión 1961. 76 minutes. Setting: 1525; 1963 Language: Spanish Availability: none
|
In this Grade B horror movie, a group of archaeologists explore the tomb of the Aztec warrior
Acatl. They find him perfectly mummified, as well as a severed head of the high priest Xiu.
One of the archaeologist brings these mummy treasures home, where they come to life,
kill his colleagues, and hypnotize his wife, who turns out to be the reincarnation of the
Aztec priestess Xochiquétzal.
Sinopsis en español: |
|||||
|
|||||||
 |
CASCABEL (Rattlesnake) Director: Raúl Araiza Writers: Raúl Araiza, Antonio Monsell, Jorge Patiño Cinematography: Rosalío Solano Music: Vinicius de Moraes 1977. 105 minutes. Setting: Chiapas Languages: Spanish, some Tzeltal and Tzotzil Availability: DVD
|
A theater director is hired to film a documentary about the Lacandon Indians in Chiapas. He is given a script and instructions not to change it, but he documents the squalid conditions of the Lacandon reservation and interviews many people, whites and Indians, who express their cynicism toward the government. In the end the director is replaced by a more "cooperative" filmmaker. Although the characters are not memorable, this film provides a good introduction to the complexities of Indian politics in Mexico. Winner of two Ariel Awards: Best Film Editing (Reynaldo P. Portillo), and Best First Work. | |||||
 |
CHAC: EL DIOS DE LA LLUVIA (Chac: The Rain God) Director: Rolando Klein Writer: Rolando Klein Cinematography: William Kaplan Jr, Álex Phillips Jr. Music: Victor Fozado, Elisabeth Waldo 1975. 95 minutes. 1.85:1. Setting: Chiapas Languages: Tzeltal, some Tzotzil Availability: DVD
|
This mesmerizing film is acted entirely by Mayan Indians. Suffering from a drought, the Mayans seek out a mysterious diviner (Pablo Canche Balam) to perform the proper ceremonies for the rain god, Chac. The diviner takes them on a journey calculated to test their faith, and only an unnamed mute boy passes the test. The DVD has an excellent commentary by the director which explains some of the more perplexing aspects of this strange film. Adding to the overall mystery is that neither the director nor any of the actors ever made another film. actors | |||||
 |
EL CURANDERO (The Healer) [Collective authorship] 1999. 34 minutes. Setting: Chiapas Languages: Tzotzil Availability: DVD
|
When Jacinto gets sick, his relatives call upon a local healer to cure
him. An intimate look at traditional Mayan healing practices, this short
film reveals indigenous approach of addressing the physical, spiritual,
and psychological aspects of sicknessWestern medicinal techniques. El
Curandero is the first fiction-drama
produced by Chiapaneco indigenous communities. The actors are from the
small highlands community of Magdalena. The complete title is El
Curandero de las communidades indigenas de Los Altos de Chiapas, or
The Healer in the Indigenous of Communities of the Highlands of Chiapas.
Order from
chiapasmediaproject.org
| |||||
|
EL JUICIO DE MARTÍN CORTÉS El crimen de ser Mexicano (The Judgement of Martin Cortes: The Crime of Being Mexican) Director: Alejandro Galindo Writer: Alejandro Galindo Cinematography: Luis Medina Music: Raul Lavista 1973. 115 minutes. Setting: 1500s and 1970s Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
In contemporary Mexico a play is presented, Martín Cortés: El primer Mexicano, its two main characters being the two sons of the conquistador Hernán Cortés. One is the son of Malinche and therefore the first mestizo; the other is the legitimate son of Cortés's wife. Both half-brothers are named Martín Cortés. In the play, the mestizo kills his Spanish half-brother. Unfortunately, the actor who plays him also kills the actor who plays the Spanish half-brother. The actor is put on trial for murder, and the play is re-enacted in order to show the jury how the mestizo actor in the course of his role was inflamed by 400 years of racial prejudice and oppression. This highly original and thought-provoking film is marred somewhat by the light-skinned Gonzalo Vega playing an unconvincing mestizo. Pictured at left is the VHS version. | |||||
 |
LLOVIZNA (Drizzle) Director: Sergio Olhovich Writers: Sergio Olhovich, Juan de la Cabada 1977. 80 minutes. Setting: Ciudad de Mexico, 1970s Language: Spanish, some Nahuatl Availability: VHS (no subtitles)
|
Eduardo, a well-to-do suburban businessman, is returning from a trip with a briefcase full of money. On the way, he picks up four Indian campesinos, bricklayers, who are returning to the city after attending a child's funeral. They help Eduardo get his van out of a pothole, and Eduardo gives them a ride to the city in the middle of the night, in the pouring rain. Holding so much money, Eduardo worries that the Indians might rob him, and his fears begin to play tricks with his mind. The Indians are a little drunk, and they speak Nahuatl in the back seat, adding to Eduardo's fears. As this is a suspense film that makes the viewer wonder whether the Indians will rob the driver, I cannot reveal the outcome. The llovizna, or drizzle, of the title refers to the father's concern that the rain might penetrate his daughter's homemade coffin. Folkways shown in the film include a poor rural funeral for the child, and also an Aztec Dance performance in the city, highlighting the chasm between the exotic, romanticized Indian and the grim reality of their present-day marginalization. This in turn reveals the hypocrisy of national Aztec pride flaunted over furtive prejudices. Loosely based on the very short story "La Llovizna" by Juan de la Cabada. | |||||
 |
MARÍA ISABEL Writers: René Muñoz, Yolanda Vargas Dulché 1998. 573 minutes. Setting: Nayarit; Mexico City; Guadalajara Language: Spanish Availability: DVD
|
Maria Isabel (Adela Noriega) is an Indian girl growing up in Nayarit near the estate of
the wealthy and evil Don Felix. She befriends Don Felix's daughter, Graciela. When Graciela
dies prematurely, she entrusts her illegitimate daughter to Maria Isabel, who must wander
the streets of Mexico City looking for a job and raising the daughter. She endures one
crummy job after another and finally ends up as a maid for kind, handsome and wealthy
Ricardo Mendiola (Fernando Carrillo). They fall in love and marry, and all kinds of
telenovela-ish things happen along the way that no intelligent viewer could care about.
The only interesting plot development comes near the end, when the entire Indian village
gets sick from Don Felix's fertilizers poisoning the river, and the village sets out to
lynch him. Along the way we also
meet Maria Isabel's humble father Pedro (José Carlos Ruiz), her hateful stepmother Chona
(Monica Miguel), and a cute little neighbor named Pedrito (Carlos Campos). Maria Isabel
refers to her people as Aguchon, which is evidently a fictional name, but judging from their
clothing and art, and their location in Nayarit, they are clearly Huichol (you can see some
Huichol-style yarn paintings and other folk art in Mendiola's home after they are married).
This is essentially a rags-to-riches tale, and we see Maria Isabel gradually dropping her
Indian braids, earrings and dress in favor of diamonds, sleek couture, and lightened hair.
If only she had stayed with her family in Nayarit and spared us 11 hours of this
typically dreadful telenovela.
|
|||||
 |
MI NIÑO TIZOC (My Son Tizoc) Director: Ismael Rodríguez Writers: Ismael Rodríguez, Mario Hernández Cinematography: Rosalío Solano Music: Raúl Lavista; theme song "Xochimilco" by Agustin Lara Editor: Carlos Savage 1972. 95 minutes. Aspect 4:3. Setting: Xochimilco; D.F. Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (region 1-4, English subtitles) [Peliculas Rodriguez, 7502210141090]
|
The widower Carmelo (Alberto Vázquez) and his 11-year-old son Tizoc (Cuitláhuac "Cui"
Rodríguez) make a living selling flowers in
Xochimilco. The other flower sellers resent him because he sells his flowers cheaper,
so they harass him, vandalizing his house and killing his dog. When father and son watch
an extravagant pageant called a posada, which enacts beggars asking for food at a house
and being refused at the front door but accepted at the back door, Tizoc wants to have
a posada of his own--making the film almost a parody of Macario (above). They buy
a chicken and a piñata, but Tizoc gets sick from the old, three-peso
chicken and Carmelo has to take him to the doctor. He wraps up the boy in a petate like
a taco and carries him to the Hospital Infantil de México, where he sees
Diego Rivera's indigenous-themed painting, La piñata. After checking in his son,
Carmelo is robbed,
and when the police come, they think Carmelo robbed the thief, so they lock up Carmelo.
After five days Carmelo finally persuades the police to let him see his son in the
hospital. Tizoc has recovered, but when the return home they find their house burned by
the resentful neighbors. The ceaseless persecution Carmelo suffers is painful to watch,
despite the attempts at humor. Although the film could be described as a musical comedy,
the death of the dog and the burning of the house are just too much to take, even though
the characters accept their misfortunes with the dignity and equanimity that commercial
films like to bestow on minorities. The DVD includes a 12-minute documentary on
director Ismael Rodriguez.
Sinopsis en español:
|
|||||
|
|||||||
 |
OFICIO DE TINIEBLAS (Duty of Darkness) Director: Archibaldo Burns Cinematography: Manuel Garzón Music: Manuel Enríquez 1981. 107 minutes. Setting: San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas, 1934. Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
The film seems to take place in the 1970s, though it is based on the
classic novel by Rosario Castellanos set in 1934, which was
in turn based on an 1867 uprising of the Chamula Indians working on an
hacienda (very little evidence survives of the original incident).
The Chamulas
crucify a small boy in order to have their own savior, who comes to be
known as El Cristo indigena. The DVD, available from
Zima Entertainment, is blurry,
but the film is definitely worth checking out. (The DVD box says 96 minutes
but it is actually 107 minutes.) Sinopsis en español: Hay una mujer que conoce mejor que nadie este "oficio de tinieblas." Una historia que envuelve la visión de las antiguas creencias indígenas en contaste con la religión católica. En este universo onírico, los indígenas, hartos de que un cacique que les mal pague por trabaja, se sienten favorecidos por el supuesto apoyo del gobierno y deciden apoyarse más en sus creencias que en el mundo capitalista del hombre trabajador. En este marco un triángulo amoroso se desarrollará, poniendo en juicio la honorabilidad de una mujer y la forma de pensar de la comunidad. |
|||||
 |
RAÍCES (Roots) Director: Benito Alazraki Cinematography: Hans Beimler, Walter Reuter 1953. 85 or 103 minutes. B&W. Setting: Mezquital; Chiapas; Yucatán; Veracruz Language: Spanish, some Tzotzil Availability: not commercially available
|
Four tales adapted from El diosero y otros cuentos, a classic collection of stories by Guadalajara author and anthropologist Francisco Rojas Gonzáles (1903-1951). LAS VACAS: A poor Otomí couple with a baby cannot afford to buy their next meal. A rich white couple drive by and offer the mother an irresistable salary as a wet nurse under the condition that she leave her husband and daughter. NUESTRA SEÑORA: An arrogant anthropology student visits the Chamulas to write her thesis on their "savage" culture, arguing that they cannot appreciate art. EL TUERTO: A one-eyed Yucatec boy is taunted by his peers. His mother seeks the help of curanderos. LA POTRANCA: A married man in Tajín relentlessly pursues his Indian servant. He offers her father money to "buy" her. Despite the overly didactic tone (especially in NUESTRA SEÑORA), this film is quite beautiful. It was Mexico's first independent film. Benito Alazraki won prizes from Ariel and Cannes for this unique achievement. | |||||
 |
RITO TERMINAL (Last Rites) Director: Óscar Urrutia Lazo Writer: Oscar Urrutia Lazo Cinematography: Ciro Cabello Music: José Navarro 1999. 110 minutes. Setting: small town in Oaxaca Languages: Spanish and Náhuatl Availability: DVD
|
A photographer from Mexico City visits a small town in Oaxaca to document a religious festival. He meddles in sacred affairs, invoking the wrath of the local hechicera. As a result, the photographer loses his shadow, and must learn how to get it back. Strange and disorienting with just a hint of horror, but also a thoughtful examination of the conflicts between ladinos and indigenas, and urban and rural lifestyles. Nominated for some 14 Ariel Awards, it only won for Best Actress in a Minor Role (Fabiana Perzabal), but the director did win at Guadalajara. | |||||
 |
SANTO LUZBEL (Saint Lucifer) Director/writer: Miguel Sabido Cinematography: Arturo de la Rosa, Jorge Suárez Editing: Óscar Figueroa Music: 1997. 101 minutes. Setting: Cuetzalan and Yohualichan (two towns in northern Puebla) Language: Spanish and Náhuatl Availability: DVD
|
In the town of Yohualichan in the north of Puebla, Indians have performed the
Tlayectiltlahtocatzintzin for hundreds of years. This is a coloquio, or religious
pageant, in honor of Saint Michael's battle with Luzbel (Lucifer). But in the five years
since they stopped performing the coloquio (due to the death of the organizer), the Indians
have suffered bad luck: Cirilio's son is sick; Emeterio feels he is
being persued by Saint Michael, and Olegario sees his land taken away by the sheriff.
Olegario feels they must resume the tradition of the coloquio in order to stop the bad
luck. When he is arrested after fighting with the sheriff, he makes his godson Emeterio
promise to perform the coloquio and entrusts him with the sacred text. As they proceed to
rehearse for the elaborate ritual, the mestizo sheriff informs the priest that title of
the text means "Sacred Colloquium of the Great and Holy Lords, San Miguel and Luzbel."
Fearing that the coloquio glorifies Lucifer, the priest forbids the coloquio two days before
el Dia de San Miguel. The Indians decide to perform the pageant anyway and lock themselves
inside the church, culminating in a showdown between the Indigenous community of
Yohualichan and the sheriff's men. Santo Luzbel moves freely between Spanish and
Nahuatl (which they call Mexicano) and is performed by actors from the
Compañía de Teatro Náhuatl, with choreography by Danzantes de San Miguel Zinacapan. It seems
to me one of the most authentically indigenous films made in Mexico. It was nominated for
eight Ariel Awards and won the Diosa de Plata for Best Script.
Sinopsis en español:
|
|||||
|
|||||||
 |
TARAHUMARA Cada vez más lejos Director/Writer: Luis Alcoriza Cinematography: Rosalio Solano Music: Raul Lavista 1965. 105 minutes. B&W. Setting: Sierra Madre mountains in Chihuahua Language: Spanish, occasional Rarámuri Availability: DVD (Mexican, region 1&4, no subtitles)
|
An anthropologist working for the Instituto Nacional Indigenista tries
to help the Tarahumara Indians protect their land from greedy loggers
and politicians who do not respect their rights. Somewhat preachy and
old-fashioned by today's standards, the film does show some fascinating
scenes of the Raramuri Indians in their own element, with deer hunting,
festivals, a baptism, and of course the footraces for which the Raramuri
are famous. The secondary title, Cada vez mas lejos, means
"Further and further each time," referring to the constant attempt to
drive Indians off their land and into less useful land--a pattern repeated
for centuries throughout the Americas. Tarahumara won prizes from
Cannes and The Mexican Cinema Journalists and was nominated for a Golden
Globe for Best Foreign Picture. Order from Gandhi Bookstore:
gandhi.com.mx
|
|||||
 |
EL TEJEDOR DE MILAGROS (The Weaver of Miracles) Director: Francisco del Villar Writer: Julio Alejandro Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa Music: Carlos Jiménez Mabarak Editor: José W. Bustos 1951. 95 minutes. Language: Spanish Availability: none
|
Based on the play by Hugo Argüelles (1932-2003). Arnulfo, an Indian who weaves baskets
with his feet, comes to town on Christmas looking for help for his wife Jacinta, who is about to give
birth. A rumor spreads that the boy was born like Jesus, and an atheist tries to take
advantage of the situation. People arrive with gifts and they put the baby in the church's
nativity scene. The priest tries to rescue the baby from the fervor but the baby dies.
This film won the PECIME Prize for best picture. Starring Pedro Armendariz and Columba
Dominguez. Why isn't this on DVD??
Sinopsis en español:
|
|||||
 |
EL TESORO DEL INDITO Director: Joselito Rodríguez Writers: Joselito Rodríguez, Juan Rodríguez Cinematography: Jack Draper Music: Sergio Guerreron 1961. 90 minutes. B&W. Setting: Mexico City Language: Spanish Availability: VHS (no subtitles)
|
An Indian boy travels from his village to Mexico City to visit his
sister, who is a maid in the house of a famous singer. During one of her
performances, the Indito is accidentally thrown onstage, sings a song,
and becomes a hit. When his father sees his son in the paper the next day,
he too travels to the city, and three Indians get drawn into an adventure
when the foolish father reveals that he has a Revolution-era treasure
hidden back home, thereby attracting the attention of greedy villains. An
unfortunate mix of comedy and violence ensues, including the torture of
the father, Cuauhtemoc-style, by burning his feet. But all ends well when
the villains are caught and thrown barefoot in a prison covered with
nopales. Abounding in stereotypes, El tesoro del indito is
disturbingly complacent and paternalistic. The Indito and his sister are
played by Pepito and Titina Romay, real-life children of the director.
Some Aztec dancing is shown.
|
|||||
 |
TIZOC: AMOR INDIO Director: Ismael Rodríguez Writers: Manuel R. Ojeda, Carlos Orellana, Ricardo Parada de León, Ismael Rodríguez Cinematography: Fernando Martínez Álvarez, Alex Phillips Music: Raúl Lavista 109 min. 1:2.35 Setting: Oaxaca(?) Language: Spanish Availability: DVD (no subtitles)
|
Tizoc (Pedro Infante), last descendent of the Mixteca rulers, is a proud
hunter who falls in love with the wealthy white girl Maria (Maria Felix).
Her father forbids the marriage, and Maria wavers over whether or not she
is in love with Tizoc. Both Indians and whites oppose the marriage, and
all the odds are against the couple. Despite the schlocky story the film
has some fine moments. Pedro Infante is generally convincing as a fiercely
proud and independent Indian, except when he sings Pedro Infante songs.
Tizoc was filmed in cinemascope, but the DVD from Laguna chops it
down to fullscreen.
|
|||||
 |
EL VIOLIN Director/Writer: Francisco Vargas Writers: Servando Gonzalez, Jesús Marín Cinematography: Martín Boege, Oscar Hijuelos Music: Armando Rosas, Cuauhtémoc Tavira 2006. 98 minutes. B&W. Setting: unnamed rural village Language: Spanish Availability: DVD
|
This all-too-familiar story of a rural village rebelling against a military
dictatorship is the most-awarded film in Mexican history. The Violin stars
88-year-old Ángel Tavira, a professional violinist who makes his first
film appearance here, as well as providing the soundtrack. Tavira plays
Don Plutarco Hidalgo,
who along with his son and grandson is trying to recover munitions from
their home after their village has been raided and occupied by the army.
Plutarco attempts to re-enter the village by getting friendly with the
occupying captain, who likes the old man's music. He also passes on a legacy
to his grandson Lucio by teaching him folktales and folksongs (such as "El
corrido de los Herrera") which he hopes will help the boy face the uncertain
future. Both urgent and poetic, brutal and lyrical, the film itself feels
like an old ballad, a wise and aged corrido, and yet it is, astonishingly,
the director's first film. Trailer and further info at
filmmovement.com [Sadly, Angel Tavira died in July 2008. He only made
one more film appearance, in La morenita.]
|
|||||
 |
YANCO Director: Servando González Writers: Servando Gonzalez, Jesús Marín Cinematography: Álex Phillips Jr. Music: Gustavo César Carrión 1961. 85 minutes. B&W. Setting: Mixquic, a town outside Mexico City Language: Náhuatl Availability: VHS
|
An Indian boy (Ricardo Ancona) is hypersensitive to noise and often retreats to the woods
to find solace. One day he meets an old hermit who teaches him how to play
the violin. When the old man dies, Yanco is heartbroken, but a few days
later he finds the old man's violin for sale at a shop. Too poor to buy
it, he sneaks into the store each night and takes the violin out to the
woods to play it. The townspeople fear that the mysteriously disappearing
violin is the work of the devil and they hunt down the source of the
sound in the woods. There is hardly any dialogue in this film, probably
no more than twenty lines throughout, so you don't need subtitles to
understand the infrequent Nahuatl. The story is told through its lovely
black-and-white cinematography and the music. There is not much Indian
culture shown aside from a healing ritual and some dancing.
|
|||||
| 21st CENTURY: | |||||||
 |
ALAMAR (Tothesea) Director/writer/cinematographer: Pedro González Rubio 2009. 73 minutes. Aspect ratio: 1.78:1. Rated G. Setting: Chinchorro, Quintana Roo Language: Spanish; some Italian Availability: DVD coming October 2010
|
Jorge is a Mayan fisherman living on the Chinchorro shore in the southern state of
Quintana Roo. His wife is from Rome, but she has grown bored of small-town life and
decides to return to Italy with their 5-year-old son, Natan. Jorge and Natan only have a
few days to spend together, so they go out on a fishing trip with Jorge's father so Natan
can learn about their way of life. He teaches the boy how to fish, dive, and navigate
the boat. They befriend a white bird whom they name Blanquita, and the
father teaches the son how to feed her and train her to stand on his arm (the actor,
Jorge Machado, is a bird trainer in real life). Alamar is slow and uneventful but never dull. We savor every
frame of the beautiful cinematography of tropic sea and sky, and the even more beautiful
relationship between father and son. Entirely improvised, almost to the point of becoming
a documentary, the film is full of tender moments that linger in the mind long
afterwards. If you like this one, you'll also enjoy the Peruvian film El regalo de
Pachamama, another father-son story celebrating the simple life. Alamar,
however, does not depict traditional indigenous folkways. The motorboat and diving
gear are modern and the characters are not really presented as Indians per se,
just people. The director's first film, the documentary Toro negro, also featured
Mayans living in Quintana Roo.
Sinopsis en español:
More info at
www.filmmovement.com
|
|||||
|
COCHOCHI Directors: Israel Cárdenas and Laura Amelia Guzmán (also script, cinematography, and music!) 2007. 87 minutes. Rated G. Setting: San Ignacio, a town in Sierra Tarahumara, Chihuahua Language: Rarámuri and Spanish Availability: DVD released in Mexico (region 1 & 4 with English & Spanish subtitles)
|
Two Raramuri brothers, aged 11 and 12, have just finished elementary
boarding school. The older boy, sullen and rebellious, has won a scholarship to high
school but isn't interested in attending; the younger likes school but didn't win the
scholarship. When their grandfather sends them on an errand to deliver medicine to
relatives in another town, the brothers borrow his horse without permission. They lose
their way, then they lose the horse, and eventually they lose track of each other. The
divergent paths they choose suggest the futures their lives may take. The film shows
beautiful scenery of the Tarahumara mountains and glimpses of Raramuri folkways.
The title Cochochi refers to Okochochi, the Raramuri name for San Ignacio, the town
where the boys live. The actors are brothers in real life and use their real names in the
film, making it almost a documentary, since the story is based on an episode they actually
experienced. Cochochi won several awards at international festivals.
Blog: cochochidramarural.blogspot.com
Sinopsis en español: |
|||||
|
|||||||
 |
EL TRASPATIO (Backyard) Director: Carlos Carrera Writer: Sabina Berman Cinematography: Martín Boege Music: Fernando Corona Editing: Óscar Figueroa 2009. 122 minutes. Setting: Ciudad Juarez, the present Language: Spanish, some Tzotzil Availability: DVD in Mexico; not yet in U.S.
|
Traspatio faces the epidemic of kidnapping, rape, and murder of
hundreds of women in Ciudad Juarez that has been escalating over the past 15 years. On the
one hand it is a police story following one detective's attempt to overcome the police
department's corruption and the public's passivity toward the ongoing crimes. One the
other hand, there is a subplot that brings a more personal dimension to the tale.
Juanita (Asur Zágada), a native of Cintalapa, Chiapas, arrives in Ciudad Juarez to live
with her cousin Márgara (Amorita Rasgado) and work in a factory. When they go out to a bar, a young man, Cutberto
(Iván Cortés) sitting nearby overhears them speaking Tzeltal. He is from Oaxaca and also
speaks Tzeltal, and the two begin dating. Traditional Cutberto wants to ask her father's
permission before they take things further, but Juanita, away from her family for the first
time and exhilarated by the freedom of Juarez, gets bored with publicly dumps him
for another guy. Cutberto's friends persuade him to take revenge on Juanita, leading to
a disastrous ending for them both. The early scenes of Juanita and Cutberto,
with their bilingual conversations in Spanish and Tzeltal, are quite charming, and both
first-time actors are excellent, though apparently neither of them are native Tzeltal
speakers.
Asur Zágada won an Ariel Award for Best Actress. Website: www.backyard-eltraspatio.com
Sinopsis en español: |
|||||
|
|||||||
 |
VAHO (Becloud) Director/writer: Alejandro Gerber Bicecci Cinematography: Alberto Anaya Music: Matías Barberis, Rodrigo Garibay Editors: Juan Manuel Figueroa, Rodrigo Ríos 2009. 111 minutes. Setting: Iztapalapa, 1964, 2000, and present Language: Spanish Availability: Not yet on DVD
|
In 1964, a trucker and a prostitute find a baby lying atop his dead Indian mother in the
middle of the desert. The prostitute adopts the baby, who grows up to be a custodian at a
grammar school in Iztapalapa, a district of Mexico City famous for its annual Passion
reenactment during Semana Santa (Holy Week). The custodian seems to be slightly mentally
challenged, perhaps because of
his traumatic infancy, and is riduculed by the children. One day a little girl is locked
inside the school after hours. When the townspeople find her, they think the custodian
kidnapped her and they lynch and kill him. All this is told in flashbacks. The majority of
the film focuses on the daily lives of three teenage boys who happened to witness the
lynching. Their actions then are reflected in their seemingly dead-end lives today. José
reluctantly works at his father’s ice factory; Felipe works at an Internet café where he can
act out his cyberstalking; and Andrés joins an Aztec revivalist group led by a Nahual
(shaman). The Indians don't get much screentime, but the story examines different ways that
whites have treated Indians: with malevolence, negligence, nostolgia, and
commercialization. The title Vaho (meaning mist) refers to the Mayan myth of creation,
in which the gods put a blinding mist over men's eyes when they realized that their creations were
too smart to continue worshipping them. "An enthralling mix of history, memory, guilt, and
atonement turns a tangled neighborhood tale into a sly parable about modern Mexico itself."
Website: vaho.wordpress.com/
Sinopsis en español:
|
|||||
|
|||||||
| MOVIES NOT YET REVIEWED: | |||||||
|
Alma grande (El Yaqui Justiciero) (Chano Urueta, 1966) Angry God, The (Van Campen Heilner, 1948) [The god Colima tries to win the love of a beautiful young Indian maiden, who won't betray the man she loves.] Auander Anapu (El que cayó del cielo) (Rafael Corkidi, 1975) Ave Maria (Eduardo Rossoff, 1999) Barroco (Paul Leduc, 1991) Bartolome oder Die Rückkehr der weißen Götter (Eberhard Itzenplitz, 1985) Caminando pasos...caminando (Federico Weingartshofer, 1977) [Un maestro rural trata de integrar una comunidad indígena a la lucha de un grupo guerrillero.] Chamula: Tierra de sangre (Paco del Toro, 1999) Conquista de El Dorado (Rafael Portillo, 1965) Cuando Pizarro, Cortez y Orellana eran amigos (Gilberto Macedo, 1979) Duelo indio (Rolando Aguilar, 1961) En el pais de los pies ligeros (El nino raramuri) (Marcela Fernández Violante, 1982) ¡En peligro de muerte! (René Cardona, 1962) Fanfarron (¡Aquí llegó el valentón!) (Fernando A. Rivero, 1938) Fray Bartolome de las Casas: La leyenda negra (Sergio Olhovich, 1993) La India (Rogelio A. González, 1974) La India bonita (Antonio Helu, 1938) La India Maria (series) Un indio quiere llorar (Hernando Name, 1994) (direct to video) Un indio quiere llorar 2 (José Luis Urquieta, 1996) (direct to video) Un indio quiere matar (Patricia F. Sáenz, 1994) El indio y el hacendado (Manuel Ramirez, 2000) (direct to video) Jardín de tía Isabel (Felipe Cazals, 1971) Llanto por Juan Indio (Rogelio González Garza, 1965) Longitud de guerra (Gonzalo Martínez Ortega, 1976) [based on novel by Heriberto Frias] Marcelo y Maria (Gilberto Martinez Solares, 1965) Mexico Barbaro (Oscar Menéndez, 1967) Mission to Glory (Ken Kennedy, 1979) [made in U.S.A.] Mundo magico (Luis Mandoki, Alejandro Talavera, Raúl Zermeño, 1983) [Three shorts based on Fernando Rojas Gonzáles stories] |
¿No oyes ladrar los perros? [a.k.a. Ignacio] (François Reichenbach, 1975) (based on the Juan Rulfo story) No tiene la culpa el Indio (Miguel M. Delgado, 1977) Noche de los Mayas (Chano Urueta, 1939) Nosotras las sirvientas (Zacarías Gómez Urquiza, 1951) Los pequeños privilegios (Julián Pastor, 1977) Plunder of the Sun (John Farrow, 1953) [based on novel by David Dodge] Profanacion (Chano Urueta, 1933) Die Pyramide des Sonnengottes (Robert Siodmak) [Sequel to Der Schatz der Azteken.] Ramona (Edwin Carewe, 1928) Ramona (Henry King, 1936) Ramona (Víctor Urruchúa, 1946) Redes (Emilio Gómez Muriel & Fred Zinnemann, 1936) Miro, a fisherman in Alvarado whose son has died, leads a group of protesters against the fish buyer who has monopolized the market, buys the fish at low prices, and pays a local demagogue running for deputy to disband the protesters. Reina del cielo (Jaime Salvador, 1959) [An Indian woman and her son are exiled by the chief of her tribe after having a vision of the Virgin Mary.] Rosa de Xochimilco (Carlos Véjar hijo, 1938) Rosas del milagro (Julián Soler, 1960) Sangre de Indio (Fernando Durán Rojas, 1996) Der Schatz der Azteken (Treasure of the Aztecs) (Robert Siodmack, 1965) [Western, based on a novel by German author Karl May. Followed by Pyramid of the Sun God] Serpent and the Eagle (coming in 2009?) Serpiente Azteca (2006) Signo de la muerte (Chanu Urueta, 1939) Te quiero (Tito Davison, 1979) Der Tod des Camilo Torres, oder: Die Wirklichkeit hält viel aus (Eberhard Itzenplitz, 1977) Tribu (Miguel Contreras Torres, 1935) Uarhicha en la muerte (Dante Cerano, 2003) [Una mujer sïkuame (curandera), sumisa y solitaria, se ve forzada a realizar un trabajo de brujería para un Uarhicha (ser del inframundo), con la condición de que él libere a su marido de la muerte.] Último cartucho (César Alejandro, 1999, western) Último tunel (Servando González, 1987) La virgen de Guadalupe (Alfredo Salazar, 1976) Yaqui, El (Hijo del Pueblo) (Arturo Martínez, 1968) Yaqui el indomable (Fernando Durán Rojas, 1995)
|
| SHORT FILMS / CORTOMETRAJES: | ||
|
El Acuerdo Yaqui (Nicolás Défossé, 2008)
El alma no se vende (Gabriela Solano, 1991, 13 min.)
Camino de las ceibas (Fernando Capetillo Ponce & Gustavo Moheno, 2001)
De maiz (Of Corn) (Ludivina Gutiérrez, 1992, 17 min)
Del cielo... a la tierra (Oscar Pastor Ojeda, 2000, 10 min.)
Je ninda (The snail / El caracol) (Jorge Eduardo Basaldúa Silva, 2005)
Junkua Axu (Return Here) (Dante Cerano Bautista, 1997, 13 min.)
Lacandona. Medio siglo de sueños (Lacandona: Half-century of dreams)
(Andrés Villa Aldaco, 2001, 28 min.)
Lobo feroz (Savage Wolf) (Samuel Larson, 1990, 20 min.)
Más de mil años después... (More than a thousand years ago...) (Pablo Chankin Najbor,
2001, 19 min.)
Monte alban: "1 muerte" (Juan Carlos de Llaca, 1991, 31 min.)
Nuestra ley (Our Law) (Bruno Varela Rodríguez, 2000, 27 min.)
El pez rojo (Arturo Sampson, 2002, 12 min.)
Trece juegos de fuego (Thirteen Fire Games) (José Manuel Pintado, 1990, 29 min.)
Un poquito de... (Dominique Jonard, 2003, 11 min.)
Xanini (Corn Stalks) (Dante Cerano Bautista, 1999, 8 min.)
Xankucha ia (That Was All) (Pavel Rodríguez, 2008, 29 min., Purepecha)
| ||
| SILENT FILMS / PELICULAS MUDAS: | ||
|
Cuauhtémoc (Manuel de la Bandera, 1918) De raza azteca (Guillermo Calles, 1921) Dios y ley (Guillermo Calles, 1929) Fall of Montezuma (1912; made in USA) Fulguracion de raza (Guillermo Calles, 1922) El Indio Yaqui (Guillermo Calles, 1927) Ramona (D.W. Griffith, 1910) Ramona (Donald Crisp, 1916) Raza de bronce (Guillermo Calles, 1927) (based on Alcides Arguedas novel) Tiempos mayas (Carlos Martínez Arredondo, 1914) Tepeyac (José Manuel Ramos, Carlos E. González, 1917) [Tepeyac es hoy en día el largometraje de ficción más antiguo que se conserva del cine mudo mexicano. Angustiada por la noticia de que el buque en el que viaja su prometido ha sido hundido por un submarino, Guadalupe busca consuelo en un libro sobre las apariciones de la Virgen del Tepeyac. El film representa la leyenda de las diversas apariciones de la Virgen de Guadalupe, dentro de un marco de nacionalismo católico que ambos directores habían ya tratado en la película Confesión Trágica en 1919. Producido bajo condiciones precarias, es también un ejemplo de las dificultades que tuvo que sortear el cine mexicano para lograr establecerse como una industria, ante la voraz competencia de Hollywood y sus grandes producciones.] La virgen de Guadalupe (1918) Voz de su raza (Carlos Martínez Arredondo, 1914) Woman God Forgot, The (Cecil B. DeMille, 1917) Yaqui, The (Lloyd B. Carleton, 1916) [A poor Yaqui Indian loses his family through the actions of a racist officer. Based on the 1913 novel Land of Broken Promises by Dane Coolidge.] Yaqui Cur, The (D.W. Griffith, 1913) Yaqui Girl, The (James Young Deer, 1910) Yaqui's Revenge, The (1914)
|
||
| INDIGENOUS CULTURES FOUND IN MEXICO: | ||
|
||
Envíame tus comentarios, preguntas, y sugerencias a:
slipcat555@yahoo.com
|
|
|
Voz de las cigarras (Voice of the Cicadas) (Sergio Tovar Velarde, 2005, 14 min.)
