ucla film & television archive and the j. paul getty museum presented yesterday and today "classic mexico: three films by gabriel figueroa", who was a cinematographer. two of the films were mexican and one was american. to quote some of the promotional material for this event:

Gabriel Figueroa was considered the preeminent cinematographer of Mexico's Golden Age of Film (1930-1960). A masterful artist known in particular for making his landscapes as beautiful as the women he photographed, his images cast an indelible view of a Mexico both stunning, but also harsh and lonely. In tandem with the best of the era's directors, particularly Emilio "El Indio" Fernández ("There only exists one Mexico: the one I invented"), Figueroa established a visual identity for Mexico that is prevalent to this day. --ucla film & tv archive calendar details

the great thing about these screenings were that they were free--you just had to pay for parking at the getty. the downside was now that i carpool, i must either drive this alone or bribe a friend to go with me, including picking me up after work. luckily my tongue is still silver to some and i met a friend for dinner and a movie yesterday and today we went back to watch the rest of the films.

the films presented:
"nazarin" (1958), directed by luis buñuel, based on a novel.
"the fugitive" (1947), directed by john ford, based on a novel. starring henry fonda, dolores del rio, pedro armendáriz.
"enamorada" (1946), directed by emmanuel fernández. starring maria félix, pedro armendáriz.

the films were shown in reverse chronological order, which is interesting. they were also shown in almost reverse order of interestingness to me. i would consider all of these films from the classic period of filmmaking. what i am not familiar during that period are films from the 1940s in general and films from mexico in particular, which made this a great series for me and why i wanted to see the films. since i am such a fan of films and believe that pop culture is part of national identity, i must engage myself with the pop culture of another country if i am to ever understand that country's people and identity. since i like mexico in general and only have begun to watch some of their films to the popularity of releases in recent years, i see this series as a personal catalyst for learning more about classic mexican cinema.

you could go online and read all the reviews you like of the three films presented but i will give my very brief thoughts on them. the reviews go one way or the other for "nazarin" in terms of it's depiction of religion and what it means. simply, either it's for it or against it. either it's showing great faith or how faith is great stupid. anyway, i'll just say that i saw this as more about ideals rather than faith. if you have certain principles and stick with them, even if you have to alter your position a bit to go with changes in your life, how long can you adhere to these principles and will you abandon them if the adversity is great. the main character went through this. such stories are interesting but this wasn't quite interesting enough.

as for "the fugitive", this again touches on religion. it's about the last priest in mexico during a time of secularizing the country. this was slightly less enjoyable than "nazarin" for me. perhaps it has something to do with cast and crew--i don't think i'm a ford or fonda fan. or more it's how the hell am i supposed to believe fonda is a latino priest? also, there was traffic and we missed the first 15 minutes of the film. that could be crucial to forming an opinion on the film. however, i think it was the film itself as it never pulled me in and i was annoyed by it at times. in both films, there is a priest on the run with people following him. there was a bit of comedy in "nazarin" but just pain in "the fugitive", as in, 'oh no, not that character again!'

"enamorada" was definitely the best film shown and made it worth the while. it packs a comedic punch maria félix and the strong female lead. pedro armendáriz and a smaller role in "the fugitive" and not a likeable character either for me. in "enamorada" however, even though he is the bad guy in the opinon of félix's character, he is likeable. there was a funny (er, interesting) scene where félix's character is talking with her american fiancée and he tells her how he just doesn't understand mexicans. what made it stand out to me was that here i am, an american watching these mexican films, trying to understand mexicans!