Brigida Alexander Movies
- 1993
At the time of her death in 1955 at age twenty five, Czech-born Mexican actress Miroslava had been in over twenty films. Her cool, distant beauty attracted Mexican viewers to her films then and continues to do so now. This biographical drama covers her life as a young girl escaping just ahead of the Nazis, up to the time she had a disastrous affair with the famed bullfighter Luis Miguel Dominguín. Although she was apparently quite cool and impervious to feeling, she was actually quite fragile, and her discovery of her promiscuous lover's betrayal of her led her to commit suicide. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Arielle Dombasle
Based on the best-selling novel by Laura Esquival, this internationally popular romantic fable from Mexico centers on a young woman who discovers that her cooking has magical effects. The tale's heroine, Tita, is the youngest of three daughters in a traditional Mexican family. Bound by tradition to remain unmarried while caring for her aging mother, Tita nevertheless falls in love with a handsome young man named Pedro. Pedro returns her affection, but he cannot overcome her family's disapproval, and he instead marries Tita's elder sister. The lovestruck young woman is brutally disappointed, and her sadness has such force that it infects her cooking: all who eat it her feel her heartbreak with the same intensity. This newly discovered power continues to manifest itself after the wedding, as Tita and Pedro, overcome by their denied love, embark on a secret affair. Director Alfonso Arau, Esquival's husband at the time, presents the acts of love and cooking with the same glossy, sensual sheen. Indeed, despite occasional digressions into a magical realist tone, the film often takes on the gloss of Hollywood romance. This combination of traditional melodrama and exotic fairy tale proved extremely popular with audiences, particularly in the United States, where it became one of the highest grossing foreign language films at the time. ~ Judd Blaise, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Lumi Cavazos, Marco Leonardi, (more)
- 1989
Also known as Baroque, this Spanish-Cuban-Mexican film stars Francisco Rabal and Angela Molina. An exercise in allegory and symbolism, the film traces the history of Spain, from the days of the conquistadors onward. Somehow, all this logically concludes in a modern disco. Adapted from a novel by Alejo Carpenter Barroco is told in prismatic form without dialogue, a neat trick if you can pull it off -- which filmmaker Paul Leduc does, and with assurance. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Francisco Rabal, Ángela Molina, (more)
