To the lovely themexicansnob, who’s tired of contemporary mexican films being all about narcos, the government and how shitty our country is.
I agree it’s frustrating that these kinds of productions (which a lot of the time aren’t good) are the ones that usually get wide releases in Mexico and get picked up by international distributors, mostly because of the public’s morbid fascination with violence and constructions about the ～exotic and dangerous～ “third world”.
With that in mind, I’ve made a list of a few films I like that may not be exactly heart-warming or uplifting but that reflect the human experience through different narratives and styles, avoiding the extremes of the mexican preciousism movement and the current crudeness in national cinema.
- La fórmula secreta (1965), Rubén Gámez
- Poetas campesinos (1980), Nicolás Echevarría
- El premio (2011), Paula Markovitch
- La mancha de sangre (1937), Adolfo Best Maugard
- Nazarín (1958), Luis Buñuel
- Pedro Páramo (1967), Carlos Velo
- Mezcal (2006), Ignacio Ortiz
- Bartolomé de las Casas (1992), Sergio Olhovich
- Macario (1960), Roberto Gavaldón
- El lugar sin límites (1978), Arturo Ripstein
- Danzón (1991), María Novaro
- En la palma de tu mano (1950), Roberto Gavaldón
- Dos monjes (1934), Juan Bustillo Oro
- Stellet licht (2007), Carlos Reygadas
- Cada loco con su tema (1939), Juan Bustillo Oro
- Santa Sangre (1989), Alejandro Jodorowsky
- La mujer de Benjamín (1991), Carlos Carrera
- Cronos (1993), Guillermo del Toro
- La perla (1947), Emilio Fernández
- Cuentos de hadas para dormir cocodrilos (2002), Ignacio Ortiz
- Fecha de caducidad (2011), Kenya Márquez
- Cabeza de Vaca (1991), Nicolás Echevarría
- El hombre sin rostro (1950), Juan Bustillo Oro
- Canoa (1976), Felipe Cazals
- Redondo (1986) Raúl Busteros
- Post Tenebras Lux (2012), Carlos Reygadas
- Alamar (2009), Pedro González-Rubio
- El fantasma del convento (1934), Fernando de Fuentes