Gael García Bernal Movies

Michael Pena stars as labor activist Cesar E. Chavez in this biopic directed by Diego Luna. America Ferrera and Rosario Dawson co-star. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

The politics of the past and present begin to merge during the making of a motion picture in this drama from director Icíar Bollaín. Spanish movie director Sebastián (Gael García Bernal) and his producer Costa (Luis Tosar) have arrived in Bolivia to shoot a picture about Columbus' exploration and exploitation of the New World. While Sebastián has come to Bolivia for realistic scenery, Costa has chosen the location for the cheap and abundant supply of labor. An open casting call for extras attracts far more people than the picture needs, but when Costa tries to send them away, one would-be actor, Daniel (Juan Carlos Aduviri), makes a strong and eloquent case for fair treatment of the locals, and Sebastián casts him as Hatuey, the chief of a native tribe who fought the invading Spaniards. As Sebastián stages scenes of revolt against would-be colonists, a real battle is brewing in Colombia -- the government has privatized the national water works, and the price of water has jumped by 300 percent, leading to protests and riots in the streets of Cochabamba. Daniel is one of the activists protesting price gouging for something as essential as water -- will Sebastián and his colleagues join him in speaking out against this injustice? También la Iluvia (aka Even the Rain) was an official selection at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Eight internationally known filmmakers address vital issues concerning the Third World in this omnibus feature. In 2000, 191 countries affiliated with the United Nations agreed to take part in a program to cut world poverty in half before the year 2015 by observing eight Millennium Development Goals. In Eight, each of these goals is addressed in a short film from a different filmmaker. "Tiya's Dream" by Adberrahmane Sissako focuses on "Eradicating Extreme Poverty and Hunger" in a story about an African student preparing a class project on the Millennium Development Goals. A child in Iceland is learning about Nepal in Gael García Bernal's "The Letter", a variation on the theme of "Achieving Universal Primary Education." Mira Nair examines the issue "Promote Gender Equality" in "How Can It Be", about a Muslim woman who wants to leave her husband. "Mansion on the Hill" by Gus Van Sant focuses on contemporary teens as he contemplates efforts to "Reduce Child Mortality." Jan Kounen traveled to Peru to film his polemic on "Improving Maternal Health," "The Story of Panshin Beka". A man struggles with a fatal disease in Gaspar Noe's "SIDA", aligned to the goal "Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and Other Diseases." A village in the Australian outback struggles with environmental issues in "The Water Diary", a parable on "Ensuring Environmental Sustainability" by Jane Campion. And Wim Wenders looks into the ways people in need can help themselves in "Person to Person", his study of "Global Partnerships for Development." Eight received its world premiere at the 2008 Rome Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This tense and brutal, Spanish-language crime thriller from Mexico concerns four female bank robbers (Pilar Lopez de Ayala, Ariadna Gil, Victoria Abril and Elena Anaya) whose latest heist puts them in a head-to-head clash with the local mob in Mexico City. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Y Tu Mamá También star Diego Luna makes his directorial debut with this documentary tracing the life and career of Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez. From his very first bouts to his unforgettable matches against such formidable opponents as Oscar De La Hoya and Kostya Tszyu, Luna follows Chavez as he prepares for retirement and begins training son Julio César Chávez, Jr. to carry on the fighting family tradition. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

For his sophomore effort, Drama/Mex, writer-director Gerardo Naranjo (Malachance) juxtaposes three back-to-back stories, set in the once lush and exclusive - now over-commercialized and garish - resort town of Acapulco, over the course of the same long, hot night. Naranjo mounts an experimental narrative structure, with each successive tale set backward in time just prior to the end of the last story - a "relay-style" structural experimentation that mirrors and recalls Fernando Mereilles's City of God). The first tale involves a thief Chano (Emilio Valdés who crops up and threatens the sanctity of ex-girlfriend Fernanda's (Diana García) relationship with Gonzalo (Juan Pablo Castañeda), even breaking into her house to win her back. In the second story, someone tips Gonzalo off that Fernanda has been seen kissing Chano in a crowded restaurant. In desperation, Gonzalo hires a mariachi band and serenades Fernanda outside of her house. The third tale concerns Jaime (Fernando Becerril) who, after lifting the company payroll and using part of it to rent a beachfront property, contemplates suicide - until a relationship with an equally dishonest fifteen-year-old runway and scam artist, Tigrillo (Miriana Moro) grants him a new lease on life. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Filmed in Mexico and the Dominican Republic, this massive biography of Cuban leader Fidel Castro begins in the 1950s, when the title character, then a young and hungry lawyer, bristles at the iniquities and corruption of the Batista political regime. Inspired by the words by left-wing radio commentor Eddie Chibas (Hector Elizondo), Fidel becomes active in a revolutionary movement aimed at toppling Fulgencio Batista (Tony Plana). In 1959, Castro and his followers stage a spectacularly successful coup, one that is staunchly supported by thousands of idealists and Cuban expatriates in the United States. Unfortunately, to paraphrase cartoonist Bill Mauldin, no sooner has Fidel come down from the hills like Robin Hood than he begins behaving like the Sheriff of Nottingham, killing scores of his political enemies in round-the-clock executions, routinely snatching away the basic human rights that he had promised his followers, and embracing Communism with a fervent passion. Although the film does not shy away from showing the darker side of Castro, it is essentially sympathetic to its subject, balancing the Cuban dictator's political outrages with his many acts of benevolence, and attempting to provide "motivation" for what seem to be appalling contradictions. Victor Huggo Martin and Honorato Magaloni are cast respectively as the younger and older Castro, with Maurice Compte as his brother Raul and Gael Garcia Bernal as the ill-fated Che Guevara.Fidel was originally telecast in two parts over the Showtime cable network on January 27 and 28, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

The son (Will Ferrell) of a rancher unwittingly gets into a war with a local drug lord (Gael Garcia Bernal) after his supposedly wealthy brother (Diego Luna) turns out to be unable to settle the family's financial troubles in this Spanish-language comedy from Gary Sanchez Productions. Frequent Ferrell collaborator Adam McKay (Step Brothers, The Other Guys) produces, with Funny or Die's Matt Piedmont handling direction duties. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, Rovi

A mysterious loner attempts to successfully complete his criminal mission while operating outside of the law in contemporary Spain. His objectives shrouded in secrecy, the untrusting lone wolf (Isaach de Bankolé) sets out on his latest assignment knowing that the law is never too far behind. Bill Murray, Tilda Swinton, and Gael García Bernal co-star in a crime drama from acclaimed indie filmmaker Jim Jarmusch (Mystery Train, Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai). ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Student Academy Award winner Cary Joji Fukunaga makes his feature directorial debut with this epic dramatic thriller following a Honduran teenager who reunites with her long-estranged father and attempts to emigrate to America with him in order to start a new life. Inspired by the director's firsthand experience with Central American immigrants, Sin Nombre opens to find dejected teenager Sayra (Paulina Gaitan) biding her time in Honduras while dreaming of a brighter future. Upon reuniting with the father she hasn't seen in years, Sayra seizes the opportunity to finally make her dreams a reality. Her father has a new family in the United States, and he's preparing to travel with her uncle to Mexico, where they will then cross the border to freedom. Meanwhile, in Mexico, Tapachula teen Casper (aka Casper, played by Edgar Flores), has gotten caught up with the notorious Mara Salvatrucha street gang. He's just delivered a new recruit to the Maras in the form of desperate 12-year-old Smiley (Kristyan Ferrer), and though the youngster's initiation proves particularly rough, she adapts to gang life rather quickly. As involved as Casper is with the Mara, he does his best to keep his relationship with girlfriend Martha Marlene (Diana Garcia) a secret from the gang. Just as Martha encounters ruthless Mara leader Lil' Mago (Tenoch Huerta Mejía) and suffers a grim fate at the hands of the gang, Sayra and her relatives arrive at the Tapachula train yards and prepare to rush a U.S.-bound freight train with a horde of other immigrants. Rather than attempting to gain access to the cars, Sayra and the rest of the immigrants decide to ride atop the train. Little do they realize that their lives are now in danger, because Lil' Mago has recruited Casper and Smiley to rob the immigrants as they make their way to the United States. When dawn comes and Lil' Mago makes his move, Casper finally decides to stand up to the tyrannical gang leader. Now, as the train winds though the Mexican countryside, Sayra's only hope of surviving the journey and making her way to a new beginning is to align herself with Casper as he flees from the most feared gang in Tapachula. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi