María Rojo Movies

The debut feature from director Patricia Riggen, this drama centers on a young boy's journey across the U.S./Mexico border to be reunited with his mother. Adrian Alonso stars as Carlitos, a Mexican adolescent living with his grandmother while his mother works as a maid in the U.S., hoping someday to send for her child. But when the grandmother dies unexpectedly, Carlitos must sneak across the border and seek out his mother. Featuring a supporting performance by America Ferrera of ABC's Ugly Betty, Under the Same Moon premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, where it received a standing ovation. ~ Matthew Tobey, 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

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

This Mexican drama is a faithful adaptation of Nobel-laureate Naguib Mahfouz's novel, only it is set in contemporary Mexico City instead of 1940s Cairo. The film is comprised of three overlapping "chapters" that come together in the fourth chapter. Each segment, centering on a different character, takes place at the same time in a rundown neighborhood. The disparate characters all have one thing in common--none of them get what they want. Chava, the son of tavern-owner Rutilio, wants to go to the US. The fiercely independent and beautiful Alma is thinking about marrying a wealthy shop keeper. The impoverished young barber Abel is in love with Alma. Then there is the spinster Susanita who owns an apartment house and spends her spare time involved in unhealthy love affairs. After killing his father's mistress in a fit of moral outrage, Chava ends up on the lam for two years. Abel takes off for a long time and Alma ends up becoming a drug-addicted prostitute whom Abel cannot save. Susanita gets married to young Guicho and learns that he is robbing her. She is just about to toss him out when she discovers that her really loves her after all. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

This Mexican drama, set in 1941 just before the U.S. entered WW II, examines the lives of Communists who worked and spread propaganda in Mexico. Jose is an aspiring novelist and Communist living in Mexico. Raquel, a prostitute and waitress, lives with him. She loves him deeply. He carries a torch for Aurora whom he recently met while on an assignment. Trouble ensues when Raquel's ex-lover Nereidas breaks out of prison. The insanely jealous man believes she turned him into the authorities. Jose also has trouble as he has just been assigned to kill Aurora for betraying the Communist cause. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Long ago, Pilar Landeros ran away from her husband and child and changed her name so that she could have a career as a singer. Now, she is rich and famous. Not everyone has forgotten her past, as she discovers when the new maid she has hired turns out to be her angry and vengeful daughter. In this psychological drama, the two are forced to come to terms with one another as more and more dark secrets from the past come home to roost. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This feature-length production is billed as "a cinematographer's sketchbook" focused on images of modern Mexico. The director in question previously made a highly regarded short film entitled Formula Secreta. Without significant amounts of verbiage, the film links images in a surprisingly meaningful and involving manner, resulting in visual puns, little slices of life, expositions of ideas and political statements and a host of other accomplishments. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

In Mexico, as in many former Spanish colonies, despite many attempts at change, the larger part of the country's farmland is still held or managed by a privileged few and farmed by powerless peasants or tenants. In this story, based on the longest-running play in Mexican history (El Extensionista by Felipe Santander), an idealistic collegian (Eduardo Palomo) whose subject is "agricultural engineering" has been sent by his school to serve a year's internship among the peasants of Tenochlan. They are justifiably wary of outsiders attempting to perform good works on their behalf, and it takes every ounce of his energy, good will, and persuasiveness to get them to follow his lead. Unfortunately for him, his idea of the best crop to plant turns out to be a disaster for everyone. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Virginia (Maria Rojo) is taking a class at film school, and has decided on her solo project for the class. She will film herself and her ex-husband Marcelo (Jose Alonso) (who likes to leave the light on) while they make love. She carefully positions a camera under a chair, and maneuvers her ex-husband into making love to her in front of it. Eventually her strategems lead him to discover the camera and the ruse. At first, he is outraged, but eventually he gets into the spirit of the thing, and gets in a plug for his undertaking business while he's at it. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

Set entirely in the city residence of a of a notable, but not ruling-class family of Mexico, this drama explores what happened during a 1968 student uprising, which was brutally suppressed by the government. In the story, the family's two college-aged boys are ardent advocates of change. Despite the vigorous warnings of their parents, the boys have left to attend a street meeting. The family looks out onto the streets as the dramatic events of that time unfold. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide

This dreamy and somewhat improbable tale set in the Mexican countryside has been compared with the fantasy-laden social satires of (Luis Bunuel). Not coincidentally, the director of this film, Luis Alcoriza has worked with Bunuel. In the story, Candelario (Gonzalo Vega), a rugged unemployed man, calls on Don Lazaro (Ernesto Gomez Cruz) the owner of a farm estate, and asks for a place to stay in return for his labors. Extremely capable, before too long, he has been given responsibility for the management of the farm. The owner's wife Chabela (Marla Rojo), finds Candelario appealing, and they are soon embroiled in a romance. When the Don Lazaro attempts to put an end to this dalliance, he suffers an accident which diminishes his mental age to that of a child. The drifter has become the new patrone, and is accepted as such by all around him. This is not much to his liking, and before long he takes off again. ~ Clarke Fountain, All Movie Guide