Rodolfo Arias Movies
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
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rodolfo Arias, Pedro Armendariz, Jr., (more)
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
Forty years in a very dysfunctional marital relationship are covered in this curious black comedy. Beginning the morning after their wedding ceremony, Jacqueline (Socorro Bonilla) and Nicolas (Alonso Echánove) found that they were at odds with each other. Nicolas is irritated to discover that Jacqueline can't cook, and Jacqueline is apalled to discover that Nicolas doesn't want children - now or ever. They drift apart but don't divorce. Nicolas had devoted all his energies to his hardware store business and has moved into real estate, growing shiftier with each passing year. Each of them takes lovers. Jacqueline tries to inspire her lovers to kill her now-despised husband, but somehow every one of their dastardly schemes falls through. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Socorro Bonilla, Alonso Echanove, (more)
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)
Tomas is a very busy fellow and is about to grow much, much busier. He has his current girlfriend in bed in one apartment, and his lady boss in bed in the next one, and is crossing from one to the other on a window ledge. Neither one has figured out what he is up to. His juggling act becomes much more complicated when, on one occasion from the ledge between the two apartments he spots his pretty new neighbor. It's only a matter of time before one or all of these women gives him his richly deserved comeuppance. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Daniel Jiménez Cacho, Claudia Ramirez, (more)
