Mexican Films Catalogue
We have a Catalogue of Mexican films that
are a valuable source for those interested in some of the most
representative motion pictures of Mexico. For details on how to
borrow these films, please contact Gabriela
Hernández.
El Santo y Blue Demon contra Los Monstruos (DVD)
Directed by: Gilberto Martinez Solares
Length: 85 min
Year: 1969
Cast: Santo, Alejandro Cruz, Jorge Rado, Hedy Blue, Carlos
Ancira, Rafael Aldrete "Santanon"
Synopsis: This film is so bad, that we could not fine a good
synopsis. Among lovers of films that can be described as being "so bad,
they're good", a genre dominated by pulpy scripts, dodgy special
effects and often surreal continuity and exemplified such as those
made by the late Ed Wood, the El Santo movies have become cult
classics. El Santo, now deceased, was perhaps the greatest wrestler
Mexico ever saw. Known as "The Man in the Silver Mask," he
not only ruled the ring, but also made a series of exploitation
films to cash in on his stardom. As an actor...Santo was a
great wrestler!
[Back to Catalogue]
El Santo y Blue Demon
contra la Hija de Drácula (DVD)
Directed by:
Length:
Year:
Cast:
Synopsis: While his films were invariably stupid, they were
bankable and Santos laughed to the vault with every one of
them. Now,
with "bad
cinema" and "wrestling" being an "in" thing
with the yuppie set, these ancient films have found a new demand,
even ones never dubbed or subtitled into English, with enthusiasts
watching and enjoying them without having any idea of what is going
on. Some of the translated titles for the El Santo movies give
you a hint about the product right from the start. El Santo & Blue
Demon Versus The Monsters, Santo's Mystery of the Black Pearl,
Santo & Blue Demon in the World Of The Dead, Santo versus
Blue Demon in Atlantis, Santo Versus Yellow Mask, Santo and
The Treasure
Of Montezuma, Santo Versus The Vampire Women, Santo In The
Wax Museum, Santo In His Secret Caribbean Mission, Santo Versus
The
Strangler, Santo Versus The Zombie Invasion and so on. [Back to Catalogue]
La Mujer de Benjamín
(The woman of Benjamin) (DVD)
Directed by: Carlos Carrera
Length: 90 min
Year: 1990
Synopsis: La mujer de Benjamin narrates the story of Natividad,
a 17 year-old girl bored with her home and her town, who dreams
of travelling around the world. Also narrated is the life of
Benjamin, a 50-year-old man, who lives under the guardianship
of his sister
and is considered to be the town’s fool. He falls in love
with Natividad and, incited by his friends, decides to kidnap
her. [Back to Catalogue]
De la Calle (DVD)
Directed by: Gerardo Tort
Length:
Year:
Cast: Luis Fernando Peña, Maya Zapata
Synopsis: This award-winning Mexican drama tells one of the many
tales of kids living on the edge in the dangerous streets of
Mexico City. Fifteen-year-old Rufino (Luis Fernando Peña) is a
street kid who makes a dollar here and there by doing various odd
jobs for drug dealer La Seño and El Ochoa, a corrupt cop
who has control of the neighbourhood. Due to a few unfortunate
events, Rufino somehow ends up stealing money from El Ochoa,
sending himself on the run from definite persecution. [Back to Catalogue]
Como agua
para chocolate (DVD & VHS)
Directed by: Alfonso Arau
Length:
Year: 1992
Cast: Marco Leonardi, Lumi Cavazos, Regina Torne, Andres Garcia
Synopsis: Tita, as the youngest of three daughters, is condemned
by family tradition never to marry, but to spend her life caring
for her mother. However, Tita has fallen in love with a young man
and he with her. When Tita's mother refuses to let them wed, and
suggests that he marry her other daughter instead, Tita takes revenge:
by allowing her passions to surface through her cooking, she manipulates
the emotions of all who eat her food --with some very strange and
magical results. [Back to Catalogue]
La vida conyugal (VHS)
Directed by: Carlos Carrera
Length:
Year: 1974
Cast: Alonso Echanove, Socorro Bonilla, and Demian Bichir
Synopsis: A young couple marries, sure that they will spend the
rest of their lives together. But when infidelity rears its ugly
head as the man begins stepping out with other women, his wife
decides that murder is the only way to remedy the situation. This
black comedy is a Spanish production from director Carlos Carrera. [Back to Catalogue]
El crimen del padre Amaro (DVD)
Directed by: Carlos Carrera
Length:
Year: 2002
Cast: Gael Garcia Bernal, Ana Claudia Talancon, Sancho Gracia,
Angelica
Aragon, Pedro Armendariz
Synopsis: Gael Garcia Bernal (Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN, AMORES PERROS)
stars in EL CRIMEN DEL PADRE AMARO, a controversial drama that
was a box office smash in its native Mexico. Directed by Carlos
Carrera, the film tells the story of a young priest who succumbs
to temptation and corruption. Father Amaro (Bernal) is a handsome
24-year-old who has recently been assigned to a new church in Los
Reyes. Upon arrival, he discovers that his mentor, Father Benito
(Sancho Garcia), is having an affair with a local restaurant owner,
Sanjuanera (Angelica Aragon). At first shocked, Father Amaro soon
finds himself in a moral predicament of his own. Amelia (Ana Claudia
Talancon), Sanjuanera's 16-year-old daughter, is a gorgeous teenager
who falls deeply
in love with the tempted priest. Before long, Father Amaro and
Amelia are entangled in a steamy relationship, further testing
the young priest's moral fibre. Based on the classic Portuguese
novel by Eca de Quieroz, Carrera's film is a scathing indictment
of the hypocrisy and corruption that has plagued the Catholic church
from its inception. As the confused and conflicted priest, Bernal
delivers another magnetic performance, cementing his status as
one of Mexico's hottest superstars. [Back to Catalogue]
El callejon de los milagros (VHS)
Directed by: Jorge Fons
Length: 2hrs 20'
Year: 1994
Cast: Salma Hayek, Ernesto Gomez Cruz, Maria Rojo
Synopsis: Set in Mexico City's old downtown section, this is a
character study of three neighbours, whose stories intertwine:
Rutilio, a family man who fears his homosexual feelings; Susanita,
a dreaming spinster who falls prey to a thief; and Alma (Hayek),
a virgin who succumbs to cocaine and prostitution. [Back to Catalogue]
Danzon (VHS)
Directed by: Maria Novaro
Length: 1hr 43'
Year:1992
Cast: Maria Rojo, Blanca Guerra, Tito Vasconcelos, Carmen Salinas
Synopsis: Julia, a single mother who works in an unsatisfying job
as a switchboard operator, expresses herself only through danzon,
a traditional Cuban ballroom dance. When Carmelo, her dance partner
for over five years, suddenly disappears, Julia finds that much
of her pleasure in danzon goes with him. Though she knew Carmelo
only on the ballroom floor, Julia journeys to the seaport town
of Vera Cruz in an attempt to find him and to recover the missing
part of her life.
There, in a world unlike any she has known, she encounters sailors
and prostitutes and befriends them -- especially Susy, a good-hearted
transvestite singer who tries to help her locate Carmelo. To her
surprise, Julia's quest leads to an unexpected romance and to self-discovery. [Back to Catalogue]
Ahi esta el Detalle (DVD)
Directed by: Cantinflas
Length: 1hr 52'
Year: 1940
Cast: Cantinflas, Joaquin Pardave, Sara Garcia,
Synopsis: Legendary Mexican comedian Cantinflas--often referred
to as the Charlie Chaplin of Mexico--stars as a bum who is mistaken
for the long lost relative of a wealthy woman and becomes part
of her lavish household, with many comic results. [Back to Catalogue]
Los tres Garcia (DVD)
Directed by: Ismael Rodriguez
Length: 114 min.
Year: 1947
Cast: Pedro Infante, Sara Garcia, Marga Lopez y Abel Salazar
Synopsis: In the village of Bajio, the widow Dona Luisa (Sara Garcia)
rules with an iron hand over her three pugnacious grandsons, the
Garcia cousins: womanizer and carouser Luis Antonio (Pedro Infante),
poor and proud Jose Luis (Abel Salazar), and the rich dandy Luis
Manuel (Victor Manuel Mendoza). All three fall in love with young
American-born Lupita (Marga Lopez) and vie with each other for
her heart. [Back to Catalogue]
Amores perros (Love is a bitch) (VHS) no subtitles
Directed by: Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu
Length: 153 min
Year: 2000
Cast: Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal
Amores Perros roughly translates to "Love's a bitch," and
it's an apt summation of this remarkable film's exploration of
passion, loss, and the fragility of our lives. In telling three
stories connected by one traumatic incident, Mexican director
Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu uses an intricate screenplay by novelist
Guillermo
Arriaga to make three movies in close orbit, expressing the notion
that we are defined by what we lose--from our loves to our family,
our innocence, or even our lives. These interwoven tales--about
a young man in love with his brother's pregnant wife, a perfume
spokeswoman and her married lover, and a scruffy vagrant who
sidelines as a paid killer--are united by a devastating car crash
that provides
the film's narrative nexus, and by the many dogs that the characters
own or care for. There is graphic violence, prompting a disclaimer
that controversial dog-fight scenes were harmless and carefully
supervised, but what emerges from Amores Perros is a uniquely
conceptual portrait of people whom we come to know through their
relationship
with dogs. The film is simultaneously bleak, cynical, insightful,
and compassionate, with layers of meaning that are sure to reward
multiple viewings. --Jeff Shannon
[Back to Catalogue]
Sexo, pudor y lagrimas
(Sex, Shame & Tears) (VHS) no subtitles
Directed by: Antonio Serrano
Length: 108 min
Year:
An enormous step up from Mexican soap operas in terms of depth,
realism and performance, this psycho-sexual dramedy roundelay about
two unhappy couples, two interloping ex-lovers, two love triangles
and a mix-match of break-ups and brief encounters is nonetheless
a soap opera all the same. [Back to Catalogue]
Bienvenido Welcome (VHS) no subtitles
Directed by: Gabriel Retes
Length: 102 min
Year: 1995
Cast: Gabriel Retes Mariano Pacheco/Guevara Lourdes Elizarrarás
Maria Sanchez/Maria Blanco Luis Felipe Tovar José Molina/León
de la Lama
During a business trip a married man has an affair with a blonde
who leaves him the message "Welcome to the world of sida". [Back to Catalogue]
En el pais de no pasa nada (In the country where nothing goes
on) (VHS) no subtitles
Directed by MariCarmen De Lara
Length 98 min
Year: 1999
Cast: Lorenzo de Monteclaro, Victor Valenzuela y Carlos Mendez
A carefully crafted satire of Mexican politics, IN THE COUNTRY
WHERE NOTHING GOES ON is a hilarious adventure of double lives
and double meanings. Enrique, a corrupt businessman is kidnapped.
His wife, Elena receives a videotape of Enrique with his lover
Rita, who wants to be a Rock singer. But when Elena and Rita
become friends they decide that he is not worth rescuing. If
that’s
not enough Enrique, who has been laundering money for his corrupt
boss under another identity, now has to deal with his inept kidnappers. "IN
THE COUNTRY WHERE NOTHING GOES ON offers a lot of laughs, good
clean humour, memorable lines to be written down and repeated
one and a thousand times."
[Back to Catalogue]
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