María Elena Velasco Movies

La India María, also known as María Elena Velasco, co-wrote, directed and starred in this comedy/drama. She has specialized in roles where poor and ignorant "Indios," (Mexicans who are very poorly acculturated to the dominant Spanish culture), are somehow able to bumble through their lives where more sophisticated individuals would be stopped in their tracks. In this story, María is at work as an undocumented alien in the U.S. city of Los Angeles when she happens to see the assassination of a political figure take place. From that moment on, she is on the run from "La Migra" (the immigration service), agents of the FBI (whom she assumes work for La Migra), and the assassins themselves. To keep herself alive while on the run, she takes jobs that are even more menial than usual. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The Emerald Forest is based on a true story, as related by Los Angeles Times correspondent Leonard Greenwood. Powers Boothe stars as Bill Markham, a US engineer working on a dam project in the Amazonian jungles. Bill's young son, Tomme (played by director John Boorman's son Charley Boorman) is kidnapped in the rain forest by a tribe called "The Invisible People" because of their skills at camouflage - a group that has reportedly never experienced contact with Caucasians. The authorities give up the boy for lost, but Bill perseveres in searching for his son, for over 10 years. While fleeing for his life from The Fierce People - enemies of The Invisible People - he's rescued at the last minute by Tomme, now an adoptee of The Invisible People's chief. To Bill's frustration, Tomme initially refuses to join his biological dad and return to civilization, but when The Fierce People swing in and abduct all of the women in the Invisible People tribe, Tomme seeks his dad's help in rescuing them. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

This attempt to remake the clever 1977 French farce Un Moment d'Egarement stars Michael Caine as an executive named Matthew Hollis, who, together with friend Victor Lyons (Joseph Bologna), travels to Rio de Janeiro on business. Victor sets out on the town in search of a lambada partner, leaving Matthew to fend for himself against his friend's over-sexed teenage daughter (Michelle Johnson), who's come along for the ride. Soon, Matthew succumbs to her advances, despite his efforts to break off the affair, and finds himself a repeated statutory rapist, at least by American legal standards. The script plays out like an extended version of Three's Company, with lots of near-misses and dumb-dumb humor; critics aptly noticed Caine's apparent discomfort throughout the film. ~ Jeremy Beday, Rovi

When a young woman living in the big city discovers just how chaotic urban living can be, she does all she can in order to stay in control of her sanity in a rollicking comedy starring Maria Elena Velasco. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Irrepressible Mexican queen of comedy Maria Elena Velasco returns to the screen in this rollicking laugh-fest that finds her enduring character La India Maria becoming deeply embroiled in a large scale diamond heist. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A greedy family schemes to find a means of wrestling a hearty inheritance from the ailing family matriarch, only to discover that the mischievous grandmother has left everything to her ever-faithful feline friend in this dark comedy starring Emma Roldan, Fernando Lujan, and Maria Elena Velasco. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Mexican comedienne La India Maria stars in this political comedy in which a woman who has no political experience to speak of is inexplicably elected to the office of mayor. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Beloved Mexican screen star La India Maria portrays a poor but honorable woman who causes a stir around town when she decides to become a witch doctor in this classic comedy from director Fernando Cortes. When the real medical practitioner in town discovers that there's a new shaman around, the comic trouble that follows is sure to keep viewers in stitches. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Ivan Lipkies' Mexican comedy Las Delicias del Poder stars Maria Elena Velasco as a peasant girl who eventually meets up with a twin sister she has been estranged from since birth. The sister is a respected politician. Soon enough the two very similar looking women with two very different personalities begin being confused for each other. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi