Fernando Soler Movies

Even with careful handling, this sordid story based on a tale by the famed French writer Guy de Maupassant might repel would-be viewers, but add in scatology and high-blown philosophical maunderings by the lead characters, and you have a recipe for a cinematic disaster. In the story, a sailor has grown tired of his oceangoing life, so he leaves his ship on the sly and beds down in a local Mexican whorehouse. He is startled to discover that his own mother is the house's madam, and that his sister is one of the girls. However, after his sister turns a trick or two with him, he begins to fall in love with her. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

In a Mexican village, the local whorehouse is run by an elderly transvestite man and his daughter. One of the house's regular customers is a truck driver with a violent turn of mind. One day, he loses control entirely. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Beloved Mexican screen star La India Maria portrays a poor but honorable woman who causes a stir around town when she decides to become a witch doctor in this classic comedy from director Fernando Cortes. When the real medical practitioner in town discovers that there's a new shaman around, the comic trouble that follows is sure to keep viewers in stitches. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

An average working-class family contends with the perils of everyday life in this classic melodrama from Mexico starring Sara Garcia and Joaquin Pardave. Youngest son Raymondo has been accused of purse-snatching, and his father is convinced that swift punishment is the only way of keeping the boy in the straight and narrow. Later, after the rest of the children have fled the nest to find their own way in the world, Jose is hired at the local bank. Being around so much money isn't easy for a boy who has had to struggle his whole life just to get by, and after eventually succumbing to his greed Jose begs his mother to help him out of his pressing dilemma. When the house is mortgaged, the family is forced to accept the very real possibility that they will lose their home. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Volatile, home-grown Mexican director and actor Emilio "El Indio" Fernández guides this simple melodrama through its paces to put across a relatively effective -- though idealistic -- story about social change. Set in a backwater village, the tale begins when an architect arrives in town, sent by the government. It turns out that the local schoolteacher is fed up with holding classes in a ramshackle lean-to that barely keeps a roof over the students' heads. The architect's job is to make sure a decent school is built. But on the opposite side of the fence is a local landowner who is against the project. Battle lines are drawn, and the conflict over the school starts to galvanize the villagers. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, Rovi

The musical drama Cuando Mexico Canta stars Rosita Quintana as a poor young woman who, with the help of a devoted teacher, becomes one of the most celebrated singers of her time. The film contains many of the most popular songs in Mexican history. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

The Mexican comedy Reportaje follows the wacky adventures that ensue when a man offers a large reward to the journalist that can uncover the best news story that occurs during New Year's Eve. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi

In the drama, a father, firmly believing that the baby daughter in his arms is not his own, abandons her upon the doorstep of the town drunk. Many years pass, and the man finds himself continually wracked with guilt about deserting her. He begins looking for her. He finds that she has grown up to be happily married. She is also pregnant. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

El Gran Calavera a dark comedy directed by Luis Buñuel deals with a family's attempt to change the spending habit of the indulgent and hedonistic patriarch, Alfredo (Luis Alconira). The family decides to try to fool him into spending less by telling him that his large fortune is gone. He discovers that this is a ruse but -- in order to teach his family that they are all worthless and lazy and to vindicate his own reputation -- he continues to feign ignorance while sneaking off during the day to conduct his very prosperous business. ~ Linda Rasmussen, Rovi