Thanks to the 2010 commemoration of the centenary of the Revolution, its representation on screen has garnered reknewed attention. This is welcome after many years of comparative neglect. As, apart from a select number of supposedly exceptional films, ¡Vámonos con Pancho Villa! (Fernando de Fuentes, 1936) and the auteurist films by Emilio ‘El indio’ Fernández, they…
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Book flyer
The flyer for the book and the book series is out.
Cananea
Media Type: Film Year: 1977 Who wrote / made it : Marcela Fernández Violante Plot summary: Cananea is set in a clearly defined historical moment. The final titles tell us that four years and five months after the events portrayed in the film the Revolution begins. The film represents the experiences which moulded the anarchist,…
El principio
Media Type: Film Year: 1972 Who wrote / made it : Gonzalo Martínez Ortega Plot summary: El principio, as the title suggests, examines the lead up to the Revolution in a series of flashbacks from the perspective of David Domínguez Solís (Fernando Balzaretti) a member of a wealthy local family. He has recently returned home…
Las fuerzas vivas
Media Type: Film Year: 1975 Who wrote / made it : Luis Alcoriza Plot summary: Las fuerzas vivas suggests that randomness was integral to the Revolution. It is a satirical film where serious themes are mixed with farce and absurd humour. Shot in colour, it is set in a peripheral village at the onset of…
Reed, México insurgente/Reed, Insurgent Mexico
Media Type: Film Year: 1971 Who wrote / made it : Paul Leduc Plot summary: Reed, México insurgente is based on the book, Insurgent Mexico (1914), by the US journalist John Reed, who was a war correspondent and committed socialist until his early death at the age of 33. His most famous book, Ten Days…
El infierno/El Narco
Media Type: Film Year: 2010 Who wrote / made it : Luis Estrada Plot summary: Since the notorious temporary ban that was put on his 1999 film, La ley de Herodes/Herod’s Law, Luis Estrada has become well known in Mexico for making films that mix broad humour, graphic violence and political commentary. El infierno/El Narco…
San Francisco part 2 – the conference.
I have decided to Storify this conference here.
What’s in a name?
For academics and authors naming something is quite a responsibility, but one which we don’t always give the right sort of thought. Titles can be descriptive, provocative, thought-provoking, catchy, reliant on puns or zeitgeisty. However you think about it, it is how we market our work, whether we are naming our grand mangum opus (which…
Private Archives/Public Good: Classic Mexican Film on Line Part 2
Arjan van Dijk the Acquisitions Editor, BRILL wrote to me in response to my 28th February post: Dear Dr Thornton, I just came across your blog from 28 February at www.niamhthornton.net. While I realise that scholars benefit from free access to primary sources, someone needs to pay the bill for organising and managing a project…