Alma Delia Fuentes Movies
Hampered by a low budget, this otherwise well-acted and excellently directed drama (Gilberto Gazcon is at the helm) takes an understanding look at a group of people living on the fringe of Mexico City in their own squatters' community. They are street entertainers who go out during the day and perform at many of the touristy spots, their glamorous backdrops belying the way they really live. Their group leader, of sorts, is young Beto (Joaquin Cordero) who huffs and bluffs his way along until one day an older man, Don Tencho (José Elias Moreno) shows up and joins the community. Although he does not let on, he is really Beto's grandfather. Don Tencho subtly begins to instill the performers and the pickpockets among them, with bits and pieces of dignity and integrity. The results are not really surprising, but they are engaging and include a few twists and turns of fate. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Joaquin Cordero, José Moreno, (more)
La Loca translates to Mad Woman, a harsh but accurate description of the heroine, played by Libertad Lamarque. Outwardly a kindly philanthropist, the woman is, in private, dangerously close to insanity. When she finally does go over the edge, all of her previous good works are forgotten by the public, and she is treated--or mistreated--like any other mental patient. La Loca is all the more powerful when one realizes that its star, Libertad Lamarque, was heretofore best known for her work in lighthearted musical comedies. Director Miguel Zacarias avoids sensationalism throughout, unfolding his tragic tale in calm, matter-of-fact fashion. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Libertad Lamarque, Ruben Rojo, (more)
The Spanish language romantic drama Las Tres Perfectas Casadas features Mexican film star Mauricio Garces as one of the points in a love triangle. ~ Perry Seibert, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Miroslava Stern
- 1950
The winner of two Cannes Film Festival awards, Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados (aka The Forgotten Ones and The Young and the Damned) was the director's first international box-office success. Yet Buñuel showed no signs of curbing the outrageous iconoclasm that made him famous in Europe and South America; one of the more lasting images of the film is the clash-of-cultures shot of a glistening new skyscraper rising above the squalid slums of Mexico City. The story concerns a gang of juvenile delinquents, whose sole redeeming quality is their apparent devotion to one another. Part of the film's perverse fascination is watching Buñuel's street punks cause misery to those less fortunate. The audience immediately identifies with Pedro (Alfonso Mejía), the youngest gang member, who evinces a spark of decency; yet Pedro, like the others, remains a victim of circumstances far beyond his control. Throughout, Buñuel maintains an objective tone; it is our responsibility, not his, to judge the gang members. Seasoned with haunting dream sequences, Los Olvidados was the opening volley in what would turn out to be Buñuel's most creative period. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Alfonso Mejía, Roberto Cobo, (more)
A woman striving to gain the respect of her male siblings and elders takes on a more manly persona, only to find that it has further-reaching repercussions than she ever expected in this vintage Mexican comedy starring Pedro Infante. Upon running into a childhood friend whom she hadn't seen in many years, the rough-and-tumble tomboy is soon convinced to change her masculine ways, and the pair soon marries. Years later, when their happy union yields a daughter, the couple is surprised to see that the growing girl's hoydenish behavior strangely seems to mirror her mother's old ways. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Pedro Infante, Sr., Sofia Alvarez, (more)
