Blanca Guerra Movies

The passing of a Mexican Jew whose appetite for life was stronger than his spiritual discipline makes for a difficult set of funeral arrangements in this comedy from filmmaker Alejandro Springall. Moishe (Sergio Klainer) was a happy-go-lucky guy living in Mexico City's Jewish quarter until the day he died -- appropriately enough while dancing at a party for a local Hebrew theater troupe. While Moishe was a man with plenty of friends, most of the folks he left behind to arrange his funeral don't have much good to say for him. Moishe's daughter, Esther (Raquel Pankowsky), has long been bitter about the fact that he cheated on her mother, and with a Gentile to boot. His son, Ricardo (David Ostrosky), didn't much care for his dad, and at the moment is more concerned about the unexpected pregnancy of his short-term girlfriend. Moishe's grandson, Nicolas (Emilio Savinni), was forced to flee Mexico after being convicted on drug charges; having returned home, he's become a reactionary Orthodox Jew with nothing good to say about Moishe's lifestyle. The local rabbi (Lenny Zundel) has his own ideas about how to conduct the funeral and mourning period, which don't agree with Moishe's view of the world. And Galia (Sharon Zundel) is too busy dealing with her new passion for her cousin Nicholas to focus on her grandfather's passing. Morirse Esta en Hebreo (aka My Mexican Shivah received its North American premiere at the 2006 New York Jewish Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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, Rovi

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, Rovi

This Mexican film, loosely based on Egyptian author Naguib Mahfouz's 1940's book, traces the slow and painful collapse of a Mexican family after the sudden death of the father. Much of the film focuses upon the outcomes of two disparate brothers. Following his death, the formerly middle-class Botero family is left destitute. To pay their debts, the mother Ignacia throws the oldest son Guama who does not pull his weight at home, out into the street where he becomes a full-time drug addict, pimp, and bouncer. Guama is doomed right from the start. Ignacia then forces Nicolas and sister, Mireya to give up their bright futures in favor of brother, Gabriel, Ignacia's favorite. The selfish Gabriel is a law student and Ignacia has placed all the family's hopes upon him. Nicolas must leave school and take a peon's job. Mireya works at a sweat-shop and eventually becomes a hooker. Gabriel gets himself into a situation that jeopardizes his potential career. To protect it he cons one of siblings into covering for him. That sibling commits suicide. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Spain held vast territories in its Mexican colony, areas which are now part of the American soutwest. For a long time, huge portions of these territories went unexplored. In this historical drama set in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Padre Kino (1645-1711), a Jesuit missionary, defies his superiors and explores the northern reaches of Baja California. In his journeys, he discovers (to everyone's surprise) that it is a penninsula connected to the rest of California. Padre Kino (Francisco Eusebio Kino) established many towns and villages along the way, and is an important figure in Mexico's colonial history. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Spending the bulk of her time working and raising her child alone, Julia's life is filled with mundane grays. The only color in her life comes from her Wednesday night trips to Mexico City where she dances the danzon with her long-time partner Carmelo. But one night, she goes to dance and Carmelo is not there. At first puzzled, and then obsessed, she embarks upon a search that not only solves the mystery of his disappearance, but also leads her down a path of personal discovery and renewal. This drama earned international acclaim and was the first Mexican film to premiere at Cannes in over a decade. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

Guerilla wars against the major powers have been a factor in Central American politics for a long time. This biographical drama is based on the life of Nicaragua's prototypical 20th century guerilla, Augusto C. Sandino (born as Augusto Nicolás Calderón Sandino). His name and life were the inspiration for the anti-U.S. forces in that country fifty years after his death: they called themselves the Sandanistas. It is helpful to remember, and this movie demonstrates, that the U.S. military has been actively involved with the domestic politics of Nicaragua many times in this century, most notably during the 1912 invasion which resulted in over twenty continuous years of U.S. military intervention. In the story, Sandino loves two women: his wife, who remains at home, and his warlike mistress, a guerilla who accompanies him into the jungle. He has a tendency (common at the time) of wanting to trust politicians. As a result, he was betrayed by Anastasio Somoza in 1933, and vanished from sight. Somoza soon became the sole ruler of Nicaragua (from 1936 to 1956). The free-thinking rebel, who renamed himself Augusto César Sandino in the late 1920s, identified strongly with the indios or indigenous people of the region, and proposed a political agenda under which the countries of the Central America would unite against European exploitation. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A wealthy industrial family tries to overcome the death of their patriarch in this social melodrama. The eldest son inherits the reigns of the factory but is undermined by his younger brother. The sibling rivalry escalates into kidnapping and blackmail as the residents of town protest against ecological contamination. ~ Dan Pavlides, Rovi

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, Rovi

Twenty years ago, Juan witnessed his father's death in a smuggling operation across the U.S. border and knows that he was obviously lured to his death in a plot concocted by Rojas, his father's partner, in collusion with an American policeman. These days, Juan is a successful gun-runner, and things are fine until he hears that Rojas is still around and is doing better than ever, having moved to Durango. He decides to go to where his father's treacherous partner now lives and even the score a bit. Along the way, he encounters others whose lives have been harmed by Rojas, and they aid him in his efforts. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Dull-witted Mexican peasant Ernesto Gomez Cruz comes into possession of a rooster severely injured in a cockfight. He restores the bird's health and wins several bouts, then runs afoul of gambler Alejandro Parodi, who has the rooster's ribs cracked so it can never win again. Taking Cruz under his wing, the gambler teaches the peasant how to be tops in the speculating field. In the company of Parodi's girlfriend Blanca Guerra, who functions as a human good-luck charm, Cruz becomes successful, but Guerra tires of living in Cruz's shadow and kills herself. More than a little influenced by Luis Bunuel, the Mexican Realm of Fortune (El Imperio De La Fortuna) won several awards in its country of origin, though it has only fitfully seen the light of day in the US. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi