Ofelia Medina Movies
One of Mexico's most respected and popular actresses of stage and screen, Ofelia Medina made her film debut in 1967 with La Paz (1967). In 1978, Medina went to Hollywood to appear in The Big Fix. She has won Mexico's Ariel Award (the country's Oscar) as well as Dios la Plata awards. In Canada, Medina was nominated for a Best Actress Award by Canada's Film Academy for her work in Diplomatic Immunity (1991). For playing the title role in Paul Leduc's Frida, naturaleza y viva, she received four international awards. From the '80s through the early '90s, Medina appeared in increasingly political films, something that reflects her passionate and public human rights campaigns, particularly those of indigenous people and children, in Mexico. She has played a key role in strengthening her country's national identity and continues to lobby for increased tolerance of Mexico's cultural diversity. In the late '90s, she was part of a movement to change the Mexican constitution so that the country's 56 Indian languages would carry the same import as Spanish. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Cuban leader Fidel Castro is humbled when he arrives in Miami and experiences America from the unique perspective of a typical Cuban-American in producer-turned-director Alejandro Gonzalez Padilla's clever culture shock drama. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Juan Luis Galiardo, Ofelia Medina, (more)
The bloody civil war which tore apart El Salvador in the 1980s is seen through the eyes of a young boy in this drama from director Luis Mandoki. Chava (Carlos Padilla) is 11 years old and growing up in a small town in El Salvador where the fighting between rebels and government troops is a daily fact of life. Chava's father has abandoned the family, leaving him behind as the man of the house while his mother (Leonor Varela) and sister try to maintain a normal life by day while dodging bullets by night. Chava's 12th birthday is coming up, which puts the boy in a dangerous position -- at 12, he'll be old enough to join the army and be used as cannon fodder against the rebels, so he and his classmates try to find out when military recruiters will be coming to their schools so they can plan to be absent that day. However, as Chava faces both danger and adventure in his little town, the war edges in closer all the time until it can't be avoided any longer. Voces Inocentes (aka Innocent Voices) was the first Spanish-language film in 18 years for director Mandoki, who came to the United States after the international success of 1987's Gaby: A True Story. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Carlos Padilla, Leonor Varela, (more)
- 1993
British citizen Kate Benson (Vanessa Redgrave) is a new filmmaker who has come to Argentina to film a story based on the experiences of a woman whose husband became one of the "disappeared ones" during the time when Argentina was ruled by a military junta. As she attempts to film her story, she learns that Silvia Cassini (Ofelia Medina), whose story it is based on, is alive, has remarried, and is living in Buenos Aires. Kate would like to visit her to better understand how to translate her story into film. However, Silvia is not interested in reliving the past for any reason or set of reasons. As the story proceeds, we see through flashbacks just what Silvia is trying so hard to forget. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Vanessa Redgrave, Ofelia Medina, (more)
- 1991
- R
Bruce Boxleitner plays a second-rate Rambo in the action film Diplomatic Immunity. Boxleitner is grizzled and tight-lipped Vietnam veteran and U.S. Marine instructor Cole Hickel. When his daughter Ellen (Sharon L. Case) begins to date Paraguayan nationalist Klaus Hermann (Tom Breznahan), Cole looks askance at the couple. His suspicions prove correct when Ellen is murdered by Klaus, who uses her body as a subject for his sado-masochistic paintings. The police arrest Klaus but, because of his aristocratic descent, the government refuses to bring him to trial. Cole takes the law into his own hands and, with arms-dealer pal Cowboy (Billy Drago), Cole heads back into Paraguay as a one-man army to exact vengeance upon Klaus and any other Paraguayan who stands in his way. ~ Paul Brenner, Rovi
- Starring:
- Bruce Boxleitner, Billy Drago, (more)
- 1991
This biographical drama illustrates scenes from the life of the Mexican author of many cherished romantic poems Manuel Acuña, who died by his own hand at the age of 24. While studying at the Academy of San Carlos, the young rake seduces his maid and then shuns her for the arms of another. However, his meeting with the lovely Rosario de la Peña marks a pivotal moment in his life; Rosario is flattered by the poems he publishes which are dedicated to her, but she steadfastly refuses his persistent (even obsessive) efforts to seduce her. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ofelia Medina
- 1988
- R
Lila (Patricia Pereyra) is a teenaged heroin addict who is on the run from some rough customers. It doesn't matter to her that these unpleasant characters were hired by her parents to drag her back to her home. She stumbles into an auto junkyard and is befriended by the manager, Juan (Pedro Armendariz, Jr.), an older man with a daughter about her age who has run away from him and is living in one of the U.S./Mexico border towns. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- Starring:
- Pedro Armendariz, Jr., Ofelia Medina, (more)
- 1987
In this romance, a contemporary-minded young woman falls in love with a much older but still virile man who introduces her to a whole world of new adventures. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Frida Kahlo was more than a mere Mexican artist. Crippled, Kahlo used her art to speak for other physically afflicted souls. She also was a controversial political figure, commiserating with the likes of Leon Trotsky and Diego Rivera. Directed by Paul Leduc and photographed by cinematographer Angel Goded, Frida features the artist portrayed by Ofelia Medina. In 2002, Kahlo's story would again be told in another film called Frida, with Salma Hayek in the lead role. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Ofelia Medina, Juan Jose Gurrola, (more)
- 1978
- PG
Richard Dreyfuss plays Moses Wine, an ex-Sixties radical who pays the bills as a private eye. Wine is hired to stem a smear campaign against a popular political candidate. Gradually the plot thickens into a murder case, involving a hippie leader whose values, like Wine's, have been severely compromised over the years - and who plans to blow up a major LA freeway as a protest. Susan Anspach provides a great deal of dramatic (and sexual) tension as Wine's boss. Among the minor players are future stars Mandy Patinkin and F. Murray Abraham. The Big Fix was adapted by Roger L. Simon from his own novel. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard Dreyfuss, Susan Anspach, (more)
- 1973
In this Mexican drama, two young men leave the city for the simple life in the countryside. Unfortunately, the lake they have chosen to live next to is heavily polluted by a nearby factory. After one of their girlfriends gets sick from the water, they throw lake water into the faces of local officials who have authority over the factory. The officials are not amused, and the two boys are brutally murdered. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi
- 1973
As a young thief named Lauro flees the city, he meets an honest young boy who teaches him that it's not so difficult to lead an honest life. Years later, fate brings the pair together once again and the former thief gets an unexpected surprise. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
