Ana Ofelia Murguia Movies

Mexican helmer Sebastian Silva's Spanish-language feature Nonna's Trip marks one of the few recent dramas to tackle, head-on, the complications wrought by the mnemonic loss attached to senility. Ana Ofelia Murguia stars as Nonna, the grandmother of the title, whose hold on the past is rapidly slipping away from her. During her last days of cognizance, she reaches out for one last, desperate hold on the golden memories that she cherishes: a trip to Italy, and a visit to her late husband's place-of-birth on that peninsula. Together with the members of her immediate family, the Todaros, Nonna indeed embarks on such a voyage, in search of relics from the past - a journey replete with joyous, occasionally surprising discoveries and radiant with the bonds of togetherness, as the elderly woman's self-awareness lingers tentatively. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

This historical drama depicts the waning days of the life of Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna, the 19th century president of Mexico who, in 1847, waged a war against the United States that ultimately cost his nation half of its territory. Su Alteza Serenísima finds Santa Anna (Alejandro Parodi) in poor health in 1876, wracked with pain after losing a leg but holding on to his hopes of regaining his political power and winning back Texas from the United States. As Santa Anna discusses both his past and his ambitions for the future with his colleagues, his wife Dolores (Ana Bertha Espin) introduces visitors who declare their enthusiastic support for Santa Anna's schemes, not knowing that his wife has paid paupers to speak to her husband posing as his allies. Su Alteza Serenísima was the first feature in nine years from veteran Mexican filmmaker Felipe Cazals. The film garnered 11 Mexican Academy Awards, including Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Actress.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Poverty-stricken women struggle with hardships at the lowest levels of Mexican society in this low-budget drama. Middle-aged Esperanza (Adriana Roel) has a mute son, two daughters, and an abusive husband. Esperanza and her friend Nicolasa (Angelica Aragon) recall past dreams and desires, before they were confronted by economic realities. Begun in 1987, this film was halted by a different incoming administration at IMCINE (Mexican Institute of Cinematography) but eventually completed in 1994. Shown at the 1998 Guadalajara Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide

A Mexican wedding provides the setting for this gentle satire of middle-class values and behaviors. Disaster strikes when auto mechanic Don Carlos discovers that someone has stolen the money he was using to finance the nuptials of his daughter Alejandra to Alfonso, the son of Paulina, a snobby widow who thinks that Alfonso is marrying beneath his station. As the preparations continue, Alejandra's brother Carlos, an aspiring filmmaker, records everything on video tape. While the happy couple is off on their honeymoon, Carlos begins editing his movie and discovers that he filmed the theft. His evidence nearly causes WW III following the return of Alfonso and Alejandra. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Three women seek their fortune in a small border town in this drama from acclaimed, Ariel-winning Mexican director Maria Novaro. In the shadow of the 15-mile-long steel wall that stands on the edge of Tijuana, Serena, Jane, and Elizabeth each take shelter in search of a better life. Serena is a widowed mother of three, Jane is an American searching for her long lost brother, and Elizabeth is a Mexican-American artist who has come to the border town in search of her roots. In the town that is prison to some and refuge to others, all three women will experience something new as they discover that even in the stark heat of the desert, a garden can bloom. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

The legendary life of Mexican singer Lucha Reyes is the basis of this fictionalized biography ( or as director Arturo Ripstein puts it "an imaginary biography"). Lucha Reyes was an unconventional, and sexually liberated woman, most famous for her "cancion ranchera" style singing. Her story begins in 1939, where at 33 she still lived at home with her mother, Dona Victora, the madame of a renowned Mexico City whorehouse. Lucha marries the liberal Pedro Calderon and then buys a beggar's daughter. She becomes the mother to this child, Luzma. Lucha craves lasting love like junkies crave heroin. But for her loyal daughter, she never finds it and in the end no one can help her. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Julio (Emilío Echevarría) teaches literature, and is generally ignored by eveyone around him: his wife, his grown son, and his students. In the evenings, he putters around with his unfinished novel with no intention of ever finishing it. His chance meeting with a lovely neighbor sparks his imagination, and he lives a lifetime of relationships with her in his mind, until he is brought back down to earth with a thump by his real-life obligations. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This rambling film has no clear story but serves as a showcase for a number of popular musicians. Among those featured are El Tri, Rockrigo Gonzalez, and Celia Toussaint. The camera takes the viewer through the streets and nightlife of Mexico City, to rock concerts, and to bars and clubs. At one transvestite club, a queer-bashing is featured; another club is an "hoyos funquis," a place where the poorest kids come to drown their sorrows by sniffing glue, taking drugs, and getting smashed on ordinary booze. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This slow-paced drama wears the appearance of a documentary to better put across its message of desperation among the poverty-stricken denizens of Mexico's worst barrios. A mother of four (Martha Aura) has been arrested for strangling her children to death. Two social workers spend time with the murderess and her neighbors, grilling them to try to find out why such a universally heinous crime was committed. As conditions in prison and in the slums are brought to the fore, the question almost answers itself though not quite. Everyone in these barrios is desperate, though not everyone murders their children. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

With a screenplay by the Nobel Prize-winning author Gabriel García Márquez and noted Mexican director Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, who also directed this film, there are several inventive and whimsical facets to this story about an ill-fated love. When Hector (Hector Bonilla) comes back from his usual night of burglarizing houses, he is surprised to find his former love María (María Rojo) in his apartment, dressed in a wedding gown. María breaks down as she tells Hector how she has been jilted at the altar, and later she turns on some tap water and milk comes pouring out -- for María is a real magician. The two soon re-establish their affection for each other, and María convinces Hector to give up his life as a cat burglar and join her in putting on a magic show. Hector agrees, and the couple begin a new career together. But just as their show becomes better known, María's van breaks down on the road and she hitches a ride with a busload of very strange-looking people, disembarking at an insane asylum. The more she argues that she is perfectly sane, the less anyone believes her -- sanity is not easily recognizable, apparently. So María is literally imprisoned, while Hector becomes convinced she has left him for good. Time goes by. Will Hector find María at the asylum? And if so, what happens then? Classic García-Márquez all the way, the political and sociological aspects of this ultimately absurd situation are told with a wry sense of humor. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide