Marisa Sistach Movies

Her sister having recently taken flight from their turbulent family home in order to attend college in Paris, a thirteen year-old Mexico City teen becomes obsessed with all things breast-related in director Marisa Sistach's playful coming of age story. The year is 1962: The Feminine Mystique has yet to be published, alluring images of Marilyn Monroe and Brigitte Bardot whip teenage boys into a hormonal frenzy, the space race is in full swing, and everyone who's anyone is out on the dance floor doing "The Twist". Emma's sister Cecilia has left for college in Paris, leaving the insecure adolescent to deal with their parent's incessant bickering all alone. As young Emma begins to experience the odd effects of puberty, she begins to develop a curious case of breast fever. Everything about breasts fascinates her, from nursing infants to that curious mammary support system known as the brassiere. Later, after Emma's mother experiences a frightening breast cancer scare, the boldly empowered adolescent sets out to single handedly launch the women's movement in her home country. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Familial dysfunction and widespread crime conspire to destroy the life of one young woman in this topical drama from Mexico. Yessica (Ximena Ayala) and Mariam (Nancy Gutierrez) are two girls in their early teens growing up in a poor, crime-ridden neighborhood in Mexico City. Both girls are products of broken homes; Mariam is being raised by her mother (Arcelia Ramirez) since her parents broke up, while Yessica's mom (Maria Rojo) divorced her daughter's father and has since married a single father (Eligio Melendez), giving Yessica a stepbrother, Jorge (Luis Fernando Pena), who has a job with the city bus company. Jorge and Yessica have become bitter rivals, and one day Jorge offers to help one of the bus line's drivers rape his stepsister for the right price. Yessica is emotionally scarred by the assault, but paralyzed by fear and guilt, she refuses to report the crime to anyone; the rape remains a secret until tragic circumstances bring the crime into the open. Perfume De Violetas -- Nadie Te Oye received an enthusiastic reception at the 2001 {~Guadalajara Film Festival, where Ximena Ayala's performance earned her honors as Best Actress. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

Using the home movies his grandfather, Dr. Jose Buil Belenguer, shot between 1925 and the mid 1940s, Mexican-filmmaker Jose Buil presents a personal history of his family in this documentary. The family of Buil had its earliest roots in the tiny town of Papantia and as the images of assorted relatives perform their daily business, a fascinating picture of Mexican domestic life is created. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

In this meandering drama, Ana (Guadalupe Sánchez) is a thirtyish divorced woman with two children who has two ambitions: to direct a feature film (she is already an assistant director), and to find a decent man. Whatever her chances for success in fulfilling her first ambition, it appears that she is doomed to failure in the second one. From her ex-husband, to a taxi-driver who can't take "no" for an answer (after having received a one-night "yes") she runs into one clueless man after another. It almost seems that her problem is not that her standards are too high, but that she has any at all. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide