Mexican Cinema: The Gelman Connection

Frida
Saturday, May 27, 2000
dir. Paul Leduc
1984, Mexico, 108min, 35mm, Spanish w/English subtitles

In Frida, director Paul Leduc uses an approach emphasizing image over dialogue, and each scene is lovingly portrayed much like one of Frida's paintings. The film gives us impressionistic images of important events in Frida's life; her accident, her discovery of painting, her politics, her immersion in Mexicanidad, and her on-again-off-again marriages to the legendary Diego Rivera. The camera moves constantly making the viewer feel like an unnoticed spectator in the characters' most intimate moments. Ofelia Medina gives a rich performance startling us with her physical and emotional resemblance to the real Frida. This is accomplished filmmaking that pays loving tribute to Latin America's greatest woman artist who died in 1954 at age forty-seven leaving a legacy of some two hundred extraordinary paintings, including many haunting self-portraits.

Miroslava
Saturday, June 10
dir. Alejandro Pelayo
1993, Mexico, 90min, 35mm, Spanish w/English subtitles

One of the most glamorous movie stars in the history of Mexican film, Miroslava was a tragic figure whose sad personal life was plagued by strong feelings of abandonment and a monumental need for affection, in other words she was the perfect moviestar. Sadly, Miroslava is little remembered today, but Alejandro Pelayo's film pays a sweet, complicated, sometime surreal homage to a deserving legendary woman of Mexican film. This film biography begins with Miroslava, a stunning beauty, winning a beauty contest and then takes us on a ride through her too short life. To borrow a line from Bette Davis (Margo Channing, All About Eve ,1950) and adding our own little twist, "Fasten your seatbelts folks, it's going to be a bumpy 90 minutes." Miroslava was the winner of 6 Ariels, (Mexico's Oscar), including best actress (Veronica Langer).

Back to the Introduction.