CINE MÉXICO at Film Forum in New York City

Special thanks to Ignacio Durán Loera, Instituo de México; Susana López Aranda, Jorge D. Mangaña and Leonor Vázquez, IMCINE; Ivan Trujillo, Francisco Gaytan Fernández and José Manuel García, Filmoteca de la UNAM; Peggy Parsons, National Gallery of Art; Gary Palmucci, Kino International; Kitty Cleary, The Museum of Modern Art; Tom Plassis, Sony Pictures Classics.

“Rambunctious comedies, politically tinged quasi-westerns, costume epics,
abstract art films and plenty of sighing, swooning, back-and white
tearjerkers… There is a frankness in these films that would never have
passed muster with the Hays office.”
– A.O. Scott, The New York Times. click here to read the complete article

“A Sumptuous Buffet! Hyperventilates - not only with life, but with
revolutionary zeal, melodrama, fierce divas, dark comedy, anti-Catholic
parable, and dance numbers that defy all laws of time and space!”
– Melissa Anderson, Time Out NY

Click here to read Elliott Stein’s article on the program from The Village Voice

A WOMAN IN LOVE
Enamorada (1946, Emilio Fernández) General Pedro Armendáriz takes the town of Cholula and falls for volatile beauty María Félix, daughter of a wealthy landowner and staunch opponent of his cause, in this “deliriously romantic re-working of The Taming of the Shrew” (Geoff Andrew, Time Out London). The Gone with the Wind of Mexican classics, it swept the Ariels (Mexico’s Oscars), winning for Best Film, Director, Actress, Editing and Gabriel Figueroa’s photography. Approx. 99 minutes. 3:20, 7:05

WILDFLOWER
Flor Silvestre (1943, Emilio Fernández) Rich hacendado Pedro Armendáriz secretly marries peasant Dolores del Río, only to be disinherited when his family finds out. But when bandidos disguised as soldiers swoop in to kidnap del Río and their child, Armendáriz takes matters into his own hands. The first of five collaborations for the two stars, director Fernández, screenwriter Mauricio Magdaleno, and legendary cinematographer Figueroa. Approx. 94 minutes. 1:30, 5:15, 9:00

¡VÁMONOS CON PANCHO VILLA!
(1936, Fernando de Fuentes) An epic of the Mexican Revolution’s unsung heroes, as six ordinary rancheros join up with Villa’s forces, only to meet tragic ends. Named the greatest Mexican film ever made (Los Olvidados, see July 9/10, came in second) in a 1994 poll of Mexican critics and scholars. “A film of impressive beauty... a masterwork.” – Luis Teran. Approx. 92 minutes. 2:40, 6:10, 9:40

EL COMPADRE MENDOZA
(1933, Fernando de Fuentes) During the Revolution, rich landowner Rosalío Mendoza (Alfredo del Diestro) tries to play both sides of the fence, until an attack by Zapata’s troops makes him turn to the government army. “One of the great accomplishments of the Mexican cinema.” – Georges Sadoul. Approx. 86 minutes. 1:00, 4:30, 8:00

HELL WITHOUT LIMITS
El lugar sin límites (1977, Arturo Ripstein) On the outskirts of a dusty, dying rural town, drag queen La Manuela (Roberto Cobo) and his daughter run a whorehouse and try to hold out against local jefe Fernando Soler, when brutishly attractive macho Gonzalo Vega turns up again. The ninth feature by Ripstein, a former Buñuel assistant, took the Special Jury Prize at San Sebastian and Ariels for Best Actor (Cobo) and Best Film. Approx. 110 minutes. 3:15, 7:05

NEW 35mm PRINT!

THE CHANGE
El Cambio (1971, Alfredo Joskowicz) Two alienated urban hippies decide to turn their back on modern problems by moving to the country. But when they discover the water they’ve settled by is polluted, they realize their difficulties are just beginning. Best Director, Berlin Film Festival. Approx. 87 minutes. 1:30, 5:20, 9:10

MACARIO
(1959, Roberto Gavaldón) On the Day of the Dead, impoverished woodcutter Macario (Ignacio López Tarso) agrees to share the first decent meal he’s ever had with an apparition from the spirit world. His reward: a miraculous liquid that heals any illness, bringing him fame and fortune, but arousing the suspicions of the authorities. Oscar nomination for Best Foreign Language Film. Approx. 90 minutes. 3:50, 7:30

MARÍA CANDELARIA

MARÍA CANDELARIA
(1943, Emilio Fernández) Dolores del Río stars as “the essence of true Mexican beauty” of the title: a flower seller in the floating gardens of Xochimilco, in love with peasant Pedro Armendáriz, but coveted by the local big shot. Best Cinematography (Gabriel Figueroa) and co-Grand Prize winner at Cannes. Approx. 91 minutes. 2:00, 5:40, 9:20

LOS OLVIDADOS
RETURNING TO FILM FORUM FRIDAY, JANUARY 28 - THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 2005 NEW 35mm PRINT!

(1950, Luis Buñuel) Literally, The Forgotten. Back from reform school, teenager Jaïbo beats up a blind beggar, then murders a squealer. Buñuel’s no-compromise report from the slums has since influenced everything from Truffaut’s The 400 Blows to City of God. His Best Director Award at Cannes prompted the international discovery of his work. “A masterwork... with perhaps the greatest of all movie dream sequences.” – Pauline Kael. Approx. 85 minutes. 2:50, 6:20, 9:50

NEW 35mm PRINT!

NAZARÍN
(1958, Luis Buñuel) One of Buñuel’s most straightforward attacks (despite memorable surrealistic dream sequence) on the Catholic Church, as Father Nazarín (Francisco Rabal) tries to lead a humble life of Christ-like sacrifice in turn-of-the-century Mexico, only to meet with humiliation and hostility. Approx. 94 minutes. 1:00, 4:30, 8:00

THE BEGINNING AND THE END
Principio y fin (1993, Arturo Ripstein) A widow sacrifices herself and three of her children for the sake of the son she thinks most likely to find success. An homage to the familial melodramas of the Golden Age of the 40s, relocating Nobel Prize-winner Naguib Mahfouz’s Cairo-set novel to Mexico City. Winner of 7 Ariels, including Best Film and the four top acting awards. Approx. 188 minutes. 1:00, 4:40, 8:10

TEPEYAC & THE WAVE
In the silent Tepeyac (1917, José Manuel Ramos), a distraught young woman turns to the Virgin of Guadalupe for strength and solace. In the Eisenstein-influenced docu-drama The Wave (Redes, 1936, Emilio Gómez Muriel and Fred Zinnemann), fishermen go on strike against their exploiters. Shot, produced and supervised by photographer Paul Strand. Tepeyac: Approx. 60 minutes. The Wave: Approx. 65 minutes. 1:00, 5:10, 9:30*

IRON FIST
El Puño de Hierro (1927, Gabriel García Moreno) Morphine neophyte Octavio Valencia discovers a world of blackmail, abductions, secret identities and vice dens full of pitiful addicts. Approx. 90 minutes. 3:20, 7:40*

*Live Piano Accompaniment by Steve Sterner at 7:40 show of Iron Fist and 9:30 Tepeyac

CANOA
(1976, Felipe Cazals) In the turbulent late 60s, five university employees are waylaid in the town of San Miguel Canoa and run afoul of the local priest, who’s convinced they’re communist agents, atheists and child kidnappers. Based on actual events. Special Jury Prize, Berlin Film Festival. Approx. 115 minutes. 1:00, 5:25, 9:50

NEW 35mm PRINT!

THE BRICKLAYERS
Los Albañiles (1976, Jorge Fons) When the night watchman at a construction site is murdered, the police interrogate the day laborers with less than gentle methods, inadvertently uncovering shady dealings from the patrón on down. Best Director, Berlin Film Festival. Approx. 120 minutes. 3:10, 7:35

FRIDA
Frida, naturaleza viva (1984, Paul Leduc) A kaleidoscopic deathbed reverie, as Frida Kahlo (Ofelia Medina) re-examines her life and art, from a near-fatal childhood accident, to her stormy marriage to Diego Rivera, to her own artistic career. 8 Ariels, including Best Picture, Director, Actress and Screenplay. FRIDA had its New York theatrical premiere at Film Forum. “Medina’s performance is an extraordinary incarnation, both powerful and deft.” – Washington Post. Approx. 108 minutes. 3:25, 7:40

NEW 35mm PRINT!

REED: INSURGENT MEXICO
Reed: México Insurgente (1971, Paul Leduc) In Leduc’s sepia-tinted first feature, radical U.S. journalist John Reed (Ten Days that Shook the World), in Mexico to report on the Revolution, struggles to maintain journalistic objectivity while following the troops of General Tomás Urbina. Approx. 111 minutes. 1:15, 5:30, 9:45

AVENTURERA
(1950, Alberto Gout) “My life has only been the road to perversion!” Camp icon Ninón Sevilla stars as a proper young lady who, within the first ten minutes, is sold into prostitution, threatened by a knife-wielding maniac, and transformed into a nightclub sensation. AVENTURERA had its New York theatrical premiere at Film Forum. “Tawdry lighting, bravura theatrics, shameless posturing, pulsating rhythms, and fantastic emotional intensity... may be the genre’s supreme example — or its most daringly ridiculous.” – J. Hoberman, Village Voice. Approx. 111 minutes. 1:00, 5:25, 9:50*
Leopoldo Gout, the grandson of AVENTURERA director Alberto Gout, will introduce the 9:50 show on Friday, July 16.

ONE FAMILY AMONG MANY
Una familia de tantas (1948, Alejandro Galindo) Patriarch Fernando Soler is the undisputed master of his home, until the day 15-year-old daughter Martha Roth opens the door — and her heart — to a vacuum cleaner saleman. 6 Ariels, including Best Picture, Director and Actress. Approx. 130 minutes. 3:00, 7:30

THAT’S THE POINT
Ahí está el detalle (1940, Juan Bustillo Oro) Comic legend Mario Moreno, aka Cantinflas — in his trademark role, a carefree peladito (loafer) whose mile-a-minute mouth lets him talk his way out of, or into, anything — runs into trouble with the law when his dog turns out to share the same name as the local gangster. Approx. 112 minutes. 1:20, 5:30, 9:50

NEW 35mm PRINT!

TENDER LITTLE PUMPKINS
Calabacitas tiernas (1949, Gilberto Martínez Solares) Germán Valdés, better known as Tin Tan, became famous playing a suave, smiling, zoot-suited huckster whose mixture of American and Mexican slang made him popular on both sides of the border. Here he stars as a frustrated singer posing as an impresario to put on a show studded with leggy rumbera dancers — the pumpkins of the title. Approx. 101 minutes. 3:30, 7:40

DANZÓN
(1991, María Novaro) Fortyish Mexico City telephone operator María Rojo splits her time between work, her adolescent daughter, and twice weekly sessions at the dancehall. But when her longtime danzón partner disappears without a word, she sets off to look for him in his hometown, the port of Veracruz. “Novaro’s direction is as romantic and restrained as the danzón itself.” – Washington Post. Approx. 104 minutes. 1:40, 5:30, 9:20

GIMME POWER
Todo el Poder (1999, Fernando Sariñana) A filmmaker shooting a documentary about crime in Mexico City becomes a victim himself, and decides to find out why the cops seem powerless. Sariñara’s black comedy grew out of the director’s own experience of being mugged. 3:40, 7:30

Please note that due to legal complications, we will be unable to show LOVE IN THE TIME OF HYSTERIA (Sólo con Tu Pareja) as originally scheduled.

THE CRIMINAL LIFE OF ARCHIBALDO DE LA CRUZ
Ensayo de un Crimen (1955, Luis Buñuel) Stumbling upon his childhood music box, Ernesto Alonso’s Archibaldo recalls the death of his nanny — and his first glimpse of a female leg — and realizes that what he really wants to do is murder women. “Buñuel marshals all his characteristic amoral wit...stunning and hilarious.” – Time Out (London). Approx. 89 minutes. 1:15, 4:45, 8:15

ILLUSION TRAVELS BY STREETCAR
La Ilusión viaja en tranvía (1953, Luis Buñuel) Two transit workers, faced with the bad news that their favorite trolley line, no. 133, is about to be de-commissioned, get drunk and decide to take her for one last spin. Buñuel’s neo-realist comedy was shot on the streets of Mexico City. Approx. 90 minutes. 3:00, 6:30, 10:00