"Luis Buńuel in Mexico"

Mexico booked Year 2010

Luis Buńuel is well-known to wider audience as the Spanish director. However, he received Mexican citizenship in 1949, and he lived and worked in Mexico until his death 1983. Buńuel made even 29 of his films in this country


By BOJANA VUJNIĆ, DIJANA KOTORAC,
MILICA MILOSAVLJEVIĆ, SANJA PANJESKOVIĆ
Cooperation with the magazine of Association of Hispanists "REFLEJO"


This year Mexico marks two very significant anniversaries: 200 years of independence of Mexico (1810) and 100 years since the Mexican Revolution (1910). On that occasion, the Instituto Cervantes in Belgrade started with a cycle of free screenings of Mexican films - "Luis Buńuel in Mexico", in which Bunuel's fans can enjoy until February 19th. The cycle is organized by the Embassy of Mexico and the Instituto Cervantes, in collaboration with the Secretariat for International Relations of Mexico, Mexican Televisa and Foundation Televisa.

The event was opened by welcome note of Mr. Antonio Lazaro Gozalo, director of Instituto Cervantes, and the introduction of Her Excellency, Mercedes F. Ruiz Zapata, Ambassador of Mexico, who emphasized the importance of the jubilee to Mexico and promised that the current year will be marked by Mexico.

Luis Buńuel is well-known to wider audience as the Spanish director. However, he received Mexican citizenship in 1949, and he lived and worked in Mexico until his death 1983. Buńuel made even 29 of his films in this country, among them is also the "Big Skull". The film was premiered the same year when the author was granted with Mexican citizenship, and that was the reason for this film to open the cycle in a crowded hall of the Instituto Cervantes in Belgrade. That was a symbolic way to present Bunuel's entrance into the Mexican community and history.

Unlike most of his films (drama and tragedy), "Big Skull" belongs to the genre of comedy, more accurately, intrigue comedy, very popular in the Hispanic world. The main characteristic of these films is a network of intrigue and manipulation, which is created all around until it reaches its peak, when all the problems are suddenly and quickly resolved in favor of positive characters. To cut the long story short - global and classic happy-end! Actors in this film are some of the biggest names of Mexican cinematograph: Andres Soler, Rosario Granados, Gustavo Rojo and Fernando Soler, who is also engaged in a family melodrama, black-white production - "Daughter of fraud".

The film presents the social aspect of the poor of Mexico: the relationship of man and woman, parents and child, man and money. As the previous movie emphasized material gain, in the film "Daughter of fraud" interpersonal relations and social criticism come in the first plan. There is also nostalgy for the homeland - Spain. Buńuel himself never accepted the title of this film. Actually, he claimed that the title is the product of mistake of producers, and if that remained the same, it would have a greater response from the audience in Spain, too.

Remarkable response of the Belgrade's viewers had the film "The rise in the Sky", where the domestic audience recognized the idea from the film by Slobodan Sijan "Who is singing overthere" ("Ko to tamo peva"). In a wobbly bus, by which the characters ambitiously attempt to reach the town of Petatlan, through the river and the inhospitable mountains, we can see the comic characters with different temperaments and goals. This directs attention from the main character also to the strange fate of his companions. Each exceeded mile turns into a real adventure, and the action is filled with the parody of the typical love scenes, black humour, allusions to the Old Testament and God's sin, as well as numerous costumbristic elements, such as various events and costumes that faithfully reflect the way of dressing in the rural areas then.

For the audience of nowadays, saturated with the high-budget Hollywood movies, Buńuel's brilliant achievements are real refreshment. The last two films in this cycle will be "Illusion travels by tram" and "Nazharin", on February 12 and 19.


(Published: 09.02.2010.)