Bouquet of Mexican films to choose from

What is common in the specially curated films in the Mexican Film Festival --a collaboration between India Habitat Centre and the Mexican Embassy --is that all of them deal with the day-to-day lives of people in Mexico. Struck by war, financial crisis, or simply an emotional crisis, the films follow a kind of trajectory that portrays Mexico City as an integral part and its citizens as the innate part of its culture. Thus, how the characters deal with situations is unique to the Indian audience.

The films are selected from the new age Mexico film wave, starting from the 21st century and are a balanced mix of hard-hitting documentaries and honest fiction films.

The festival hit the screens on July 5 with To The Other Side (2006) by Gustavo Loza, in Mexican called, Al Otro Lado. The film follows the story of three children (one from Mexico, Cuba, and Morocco), whose fathers leave them behind in search for good jobs in America. The movie captures how these children deal with realities of immigration in their societies. The film won three awards at the Lleida Latin-American Film Festival in 2006.

On July 7 In God We Trust (2006)’ by Paul Leduc was showcased. A crime drama, with a mind-boggling twisted plot where Fonda--a sociopathic millionaire living in Miami--gets a charge out of running down female pedestrians in his oversized SUV. Meanwhile, El Cobrador, a Brazilian mineworker, kills anyone and everyone he can find in Big Apple. Following the Bonnie and Clyde-relationship, Fonda heads down to Mexico, partners with an Argentinean photographer Ana and the two go on a bloody crime spree.

On July 8 the directorial debut of Sergio Arau, A day without a Mexican (2004) will be showcased. It is a mockumentary, that ponders over the potentially catastrophic results that would occur if California-based Mexicans, who make up over a third of the state’s population, were to suddenly disappear.

Resisting Life (2008) (La vida immune) by Ramon Cervantes will be showcased on July 9. The story is situated in Mexico City, 1960 where Aurelia was leading a happily married life when just before the birth of her third daughter, her husband dies in an accident. As the children grow older, they lose attachment towards the family. Aurelia also starts to lose her sensibility to pain, and the family relationships become so alienated that they begin to disintegrate like the house they live in.

Espiral (2008) by Jorge Perez Solano is a documentary that focuses on the change that takes place in Mexican pueblos where men leave to look for work in the United States. Women are alone and have to start making decisions about their lives and their community. Solano made La tirisia right after, which also was from the perspective of women in Mexico. The film will be screened on July 27.

Last but not the least, on July 30, The Mexican Suitcase (2011) by Trisha Ziff will be showcased. Mexican Suitcase tells the story of the recovery of 4,500 negatives by Robert Capa, Gerda Taro and David ‘Chim’ Seymour taken during the Spanish Civil War found 70 years later in a closet in Mexico City. The film looks at the journey of these negatives from France to Mexico; their survival and how Spain reflects today on its own history as well as those who escaped. Mexico was the only country to come to the rescue and support of the Spanish Republic and then honour and support the Republic in exile when the rest of the world turned its back. The film looks at this unique story and these photos lost for 70 years.
The Mexican Film Festival will be enthralling cinephiles at India Habitat Centre till July 30.