The imagined apocalypse presented to us through portraits of characters struggling to survive in a hostile environment, where all they have is each other, and the only thing they posses in common is the will to keep on living, no matter the cost. (IMDB)Read More »
A family lives in the Mexican countryside raising fighting bulls. Esther is in charge of running the ranch, while her husband Juan, a world-renowned poet, raises and selects the beasts. When Esther becomes infatuated with a horse trainer named Phil, the couple struggles to stride through the emotional crisis.Read More »
Hal [email protected]:
Completed before his immensely successful Maria Candelaria, Emilio Fernandez’ Flor Sylvestre was released second in the US-and not until two years after its initial Mexican release. Also known as Wildflower, the film features Fernandez himself as a character named Rogellio Torres. The lion’s share of the footage, however, is devoted to the romance between Esperanza (Dolores Del Rio), granddaughter of a common laborer, and Jose Luis Castro (Pedro Armendariz), the firebrand son of a landowner. Joining a revolutionary movements, Castro is disowned by his father, but Esperanza remains loyally by his side. Later on, Castro’s father is killed by outlaws; in seeking vengeance, he sacrifices his own life, while Esperanza carries on his revolutionary work with their young son in tow.Read More »
Quote:
Does the prolonged gestation period account for the bulging-valise feel of Alejandro Jodorowsky’s seething, gore-drenched carnivale? Not really — all of his pictures seem deliberately shaped to let the fantasies spill over once poured in, and this lushly scabrous murkfest, made after nearly a decade of inactivity, is true to the molten-lava of Jodorowsky’s imagination. As in his ’70s freakouts, the movie follows the trajectory of the subconscious, namely Fenix’s (as in “rising from the ashes,” and played at different ages by the filmmaker’s sons, Axel and Adan), first spotted perched nekkid atop a tree in the asylum. Cue flashback, and the parade of candy-colored melodrama surging out of the “Circo del Gringo,” traumas piling up on little Fenix’s innocence via his bloated, randy cowboy dad (Guy Stockwell) and his fervid-eyed mom (Blanca Guerra), who, when not dangling from a trapeze by her hair, presides over an order of fanatics worshipping an armless martyr. Read More »
allmovie.com review
Filmed in 1947, Emilio Fernandez’ Hidden River (originally Rio Escondido) was distributed in the U.S. three years later. The matchless Maria Felix stars as Rosaura, an idealistic Mexican schoolteacher who does her best to educate the illiterate Indians in her native land. Rosaura is opposed by several authority figures who have no intention of losing their hold over the Indians, but she finds support in the form of a kindly priest. Director Fernandez’ understanding of and sensitivity towards Mexico’s teeming millions of unfortunates enables Hidden River to rise above its occasional cliches and unsubtleties. The cinematography is by Gabriel Figueroa, who like Emilio Fernandez and Maria Felix is a legendary figure in the Mexican cinema.Read More »
After serving 18 years for killing a man in a duel,a former gunman returns to his hometown determined to live a normal life, but the sons of the man he killed are bent on revenge.
Gabriel Garcia Marquez and Carlos Fuentes penned Arturo Ripstein’s 1966 debut.Read More »
Over the years Mexico has gained itself quite a reputation as one of the countries with the strongest traditions in cinematic horror with films like Brainiac (El Baron Del Terror) and Curse of the Doll People proving exactly why. This particular film from the early 60’s is an effective tale of a voodoo curse bringing terror to those who are afflicted by it. It is the usual horror formula of ancient mystical traditions pitted against the modern word of cold hard facts and rational science where there is no room for myth or superstition.Read More »
Description: Footage of the aftermath of the January 14 1931 Earthquake in Oaxaca, Mexico.Read More »
A very unique and incredible film, Rolando Klein made it in 1974 after spending two years living among the Tzeltal Indians of Chiapas, collecting stories, events, and anecdotes from their culture. A graduate of UCLA film school and of Chilean birth, Klein “returned to his Hispanic roots” at the urging of director and mentor Jules Dassin in 1972. A village is experiencing a drought detrimental to their crops and, resultantly, their survival. After only failure comes from consultation with their usual shaman, they attempt to gain aid from a mysterious diviner living in the mountains, who is said to practice the ancient ways forgotten by all else in the village. After securing his help, the diviner leads twelve tribesmen on a long journey as part of the rain-bringing ceremony. Eventually they return to the village to enact the ceremony proper, and incredible events ensue. In the meantime, there is always skepticism of the diviner’s abilities; indeed, he might be merely bewitching the village for his own purposes. Or is he…?Read More »