MEXICAN CINEMA… (In the Entertainment industry. Mexican Cinema)

Open air screening at the Guadalajara International Film Festival / Photo Credit: Guadalajara Film Festival - Riverhelp

MEXICAN CINEMA… (In the Entertainment industry. Mexican Cinema)

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Mexican Cinema

History

The history of Mexican cinema goes back to the ending of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th, when several enthusiasts of the new medium documented historical events – most particularly the Mexican Revolution – and produced some movies that have only recently been rediscovered. During the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, Mexico all but dominated the Latin American film industry.

It is an industry that has been growing over time, but has a long way to go before becoming what it should be.

The history of cinema started on December 28, 1895 at the Grand Café de Paris at 8:30 pm, when the Lumiere brothers offered their first exhibition of a film, featuring the movie "The arrival of the train." It was a hit, although at first it was frightening for viewers who had never seen anything like it. Many ran away from the screen believing that an on-screen train would run them over.

So it all started. The Lumieres never believed that film would become what it is today. At first, although they thought it was something people would find interesting, its success was unexpected. But from that day on, the film industry grew into what it is today.

However the history of each country’s film industry is different. Usually when you hear the word cinema, the thought of Hollywood comes to mind. But there is much to say of the industry in Mexico.

This art has grown over the years in Mexico, but still lacks support to even be compared to Hollywood. Mexico has enough talent to secure a major presence in the film world, but filmmaking in Mexico has still been a complicated process.

A few years ago, thanks to passing of Article 226 of the Mexican Constitution (in which private companies finance projects as a way of paying taxes), many films have received the funding they’ve sorely needed. But the problem is also one of distribution. Of the more than 100 films made per year in Mexico only a portion of them manage to be screened. This lag affects the industry in an important way.

The problem lies in the fact that film distributors and exhibitors show no interest in Mexican films, because they are more interested in foreign productions, which are believed to be more profitable. If Mexicans supported their own cinema, there would be a significant change within the national industry.

During the so-called Golden Age of Mexican cinema, the industry became the second largest in Mexico after oil. This period took place in 1940’ during the Second World War, when the United States dropped its presence on billboards around the world. This allowed greater numbers of Mexican films to be screened.

This is a clear sign that the key to success of cultural industries in general is not just in the scope of what is produced, but in the access to distribution. Although volume resulting from production remains on the rise, thanks to effective cultural policies, there is still a lack of policy that supports effective distribution and exhibition of national films.

The Guadalajara International Film Festival is the most prestigious Latin American film festival and is held annually In Guadalajara, Mexico. Mexico has twice won the highest honor at the Cannes Film Festival, having won the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film for Maria Candelaria in 1946 and the Palme d'Or in 1961 for Viridiana, more than any other Latin American nation.

Mexico City is the fourth largest film and television production center in North America, as well as the largest in Latin America.

Silent films (1896–1929)

The first "moving picture", according to sources by film historian Jim Mora, was viewed in 1895 using Thomas Edison's kinetoscope. A year later, the cinematographe projector was introduced by Auguste Lumière. Mexico's first queues appeared in cinemas in the capital to see international one-minute films such as The Card Players, Arrival of a Train, and The Magic Hat. The "silent film" industry in Mexico produced several movies; however, many of the films up to the 1920s have been lost and were not well documented.

The origins of early Mexican filmmaking is generally associated with Salvador Toscano Barragán. In 1898 Toscano made the country's first film with a plot, titled Don Juan Tenorio. During the Mexican Revolution, Toscano recorded several clips of the battles, which would become a full-length documentary in 1950, assembled by his daughter. Other short films were either created or influenced from French film-makers.

By 1906, 16 movie salons opened their doors to accommodate the popularity of cinema in Mexico City. Carpas, or tent shows, were popular beginning in 1911 where lower-class citizens would perform picaresque humor and theatrical plays, a place for training for aspiring actors. Politically affiliated films appearing in 1908, often deemed propagandistic by today's terms. Significant battles were filmed and broadcast during the Revolution which fueled Mexicans' excitement in cinema.

The popularity that cinema had experienced in the early 20th century continued to grow and by 1911 fourteen movie houses were erected over and above those of just the year prior. It was during this period that the documentary techniques were mastered as is evident in the Alva brother's production entitled Revolución orozquista (1912). The film was shot in the camps of the rebel and federal forces during the battle between General Huerta and the rebel leader Pascual Orozco.

However, despite the relative advancement of cinema during this period, the moralistic and paternalist ideology of Madero led to his campaign to save the lower classes from immorality through censorship. Hence, in late September and early October 1911, city council members appointed additional movie house inspectors, whose wages would be paid by the exhibitioners. Furthermore, the head of the Entertainment Commission, proposed the implementation of censorship; however, Victoriano Huerta's coup d'état in February 1913 prevented the move to legislate censorship.

Although Huerta's reign was brief, the cinema experienced significant changes within this period such as the further establishment of censorship and a shift away from documentary films to entertainment films. The Alva brothers' production of Aniversario del fallecimineto de la suegra de Enhart is indicative of the change in the aim of Mexican cinematographers.

In regards to censorship, the Huerta government imposed a moral and political decree of censorship in approximately June 1913. This decree was imposed a few days after convencionista soldiers shot at the screen during a viewing of El aguila y la serpiente. The decree stated that films that showed the following were prohibited: "views representing crimes, if they do not include punishment of the guilty parties, views which directly or indirectly insult an authority or person, morality or good manners, provoke a crime or offence, or in any way disturb the public order (Mora 70)."

As a result of the limitations placed on film content as well as the radicalization of the parties involved in the armed conflicts, cameramen and producers began to display their opinion through the films they produced. For instance, favoritism towards the Zapatistas was illustrated in the film Sangre Hermana (Sister Blood, 1914). Due to the sensational content of this film, it is evident that the producers had no interest in displaying the events in such a way that the audience could come to their own conclusions.

The cinematic productions of this period were reflective of the Italians style film d'art, which were fiction-based melodramas. The film La Luz (The Light, Ezequiel Carrasco, 1917, starring Emma Padilla) was the first film that attempted to adopt this style, even though it was viewed as a plagiarism of Piero Fosco's Il Fuoco. Paranaguá attributes the influence that the Italian had on the Mexican cinema with the similarities between the situations of both countries. Both countries were in a state of chaos and disorder – there was a war in Italy and a revolution in Mexico (Paranaguá 70). Once again censorship was re-established on October 1, 1919. Films which illustrated acts of immortality or induced sympathy for the criminal were prohibited.

In 1917, the former vaudeville star Mimí Derba, founded the Azteca Studios which realized notable films between 1917 and 1923. The most successful of these films was En defensa Propia (1921).

Government budget had to be trimmed as a result of the rebellion and cinematographic departments of the Ministry of Education and Agriculture were cut. By 1924, narrative films were at an all-time low since 1917.

During the 1920s very few movies were produced, given the political climate that was still very unsettled and the resurgence of the American film industry.

Notable Mexican movie stars moved to the United States. Stars like Ramón Novarro, Dolores del Río and Lupe Vélez, became principal stars of notable Hollywood films in the 1920s and 1930s. Other Mexican stars appeared in numerous movies which were merely Spanish-language versions of Hollywood movies.

The Golden Age (1930–1960)

In the 1930s, once peace and a degree of political stability were achieved, the film industry took off in Mexico and several movies still experimenting with the new medium were made. Hollywood's attempt at creating Spanish language films for Latin America failed mainly due to the combination of Hispanic actors from different ethnicities exhibiting various accents unfamiliar to the Mexican people. Early Mexican cinematographers were influenced and encouraged by Soviet director Sergei Eisenstein's visit to the country in 1930.

In 1931 the first Mexican talkie movie, an adaptation of the Federico Gamboa's novel Santa, directed by Antonio Moreno and starred by the Mexican-Hollywood star Lupita Tovar, was realized. Until Sergei Eisenstein's Que Viva Mexico (1931), Mexican audiences were exposed to popular melodramas, crude comedies, as well as Spanish-language versions of Hollywood movies.

Eisenstein's visit to Mexico inspired directors like Emilio Fernández and cameraman Gabriel Figueroa, and the number of Mexican-made films increased and improved. During the 1930s the Mexican film industry achieved considerable success with movies like La Mujer del Puerto (1934), Fred Zinnemann's Redes (1934), Janitzio (1934), Dos Monjes (1934), Allá en el Rancho Grande (1936), Vámonos con Pancho Villa (1936) from De Fuentes' Revolution Trilogy and La Zandunga.

During the 1940s the full potential of the industry developed. Actors and directors became popular icons and even figures with political influence on diverse spheres of Mexican life. The industry received a boost as a consequence of Hollywood redirecting its efforts towards propagandistic films and European countries focusing on World War II, which left an open field for other industries.

Mexico dominated the film market in Latin America for most of the 1940s without competition from the United States film industry. During World War II movie production in Mexico tripled. The fact that Argentina and Spain had fascist governments made the Mexican movie industry the world's largest producer of Spanish-language films in the 1940. Although the Mexican government was reactionary, it encouraged the production of films that would help articulate a true Mexican identity, in contrast to the view often seen in Hollywood movies.

The Golden Age of Mexican cinema took place during the 1940s and beyond. The most prominent actor during this period was Mario Moreno, better known as Cantinflas. The film Ahí está el detalle in 1940 made Cantinflas a household name and he became known as the "Mexican Charlie Chaplin”. His films were ubiquitous in Spain and Latin America and influenced many contemporary actors. Not until the appearance of "Tin-Tan" in the late 1940s did his popularity wane.

Mexican actresses also were a focus in Mexican cinema. Sara García was the "grandmother of Mexico". Her career began with silent films in 1910, moved to theatre, and ultimately the film that made her famous, No basta ser madre (It's Not Enough to be a Mother) in 1937. Dolores del Río, another dramatic actress, became well known after her Hollywood career in the 1930s and for her roles in a couple of films directed by Emilio Fernández.

María Félix (well known as "La Doña", was a big star after her role in the movie Doña Bárbara in 1943. She gained a higher popularity in European countries.

In 1943, the Mexican industry produced seventy films, the most for a Spanish speaking country. Two notable films released in 1943 by director Emilio Fernández were Flor silvestre (1942) and María Candelaria (1944), both films starring prestigious Hollywood actress Dolores del Río. The movies were triumphs for the director and for internationally acclaimed cinematographer, Gabriel Figueroa especially with María Candelaria winning the top prize at the Cannes Festival. Other celebrated Fernández films were La perla (1945), Enamorada (1946), the American-Mexican production The Fugitive (1947), directed with John Ford), Río Escondido (1947), La Malquerida (1949) and Pueblerina (1949).

In 1948 there was another "first" for Mexican cinema: The trilogy of Nosotros los pobres, Ustedes los ricos and Pepe el Toro, starring Mexican icons Pedro Infante and Evita Muñoz "Chachita" and directed by Ismael Rodríguez.

The only other comedian with the same level of popularity as Cantinflas was German Valdez "Tin-Tan". Tin-Tan played a pachuco character appearing with a zoot suit in his films. Unlike Cantinflas, Tin-Tan never played as a pelado, but as a Mexican-American. He employed pachuco slang in many of his movies and frequently used Spanglish, a dialect that many Mexican residents disdained.

In the middle of the 1940s, the Spanish director Juan Orol started the production of films with Cuban and Mexican dancers. This cinematographic genre was named "Rumberas film", and was very popular with the Latin American audiences. The stars of this exotic genre were María Antonieta Pons, Meche Barba, Ninón Sevilla, Amalia Aguilar and Rosa Carmina.

Other relevant films during these years include Espaldas mojadas (Wetbacks) by Alejandro Galindo, Aventurera a melodrama starred by Ninón Sevilla, Dos tipos de cuidado (1951), El Rebozo de Soledad (1952) and Los Olvidados (The Young and the Damned) (1950), a story about impoverished children in Mexico City directed by the Mexican of Spanish ascendant director Luis Buñuel, a very important figure in the course of the Mexican Cinema of the 1940s and 1950s. Some of the most important Buñuel's films in his Mexican period are Subida al cielo (1952), Él (1953), Ensayo de un crimen (1955) and Nazarín (1958).

The themes during those years, although mostly conventional comedies or dramas, touched all aspects of Mexican society, from the 19th century dictator Porfirio Díaz and his court, to love stories always tainted by drama.

1960s through 1980s

During the 1960s and 1970s many cult horror and action movies were produced with professional wrestler El Santo among others. Luis Buñuel released his last Mexican films: El ángel exterminador (1962) and Simón del desierto (1965).

In the late 1960s and early 1970s the work of notable Mexican young directors flourished: Arturo Ripstein (El castillo de la pureza–1972; El lugar sin límites–1977), Luis Alcoriza (Tarahumara–1965; Fé, Esperanza y Caridad–1973), Felipe Cazals (Las poquianchis–1976-; El Apando–1976), Jorge Fons (los cachorros–1973-; Rojo Amanecer -1989), Paul Leduc (Reed, Mexico insurgente -1972-; Frida, Naturaleza Viva), Alejandro Jodorowski (El topo– 1972-; Santa Sangre–1989), the Chilean Miguel Littin (Letters from Marusia–1976), Jaime Humberto Hermosillo (La pasión según Berenice–1972-; Doña Herlinda y su hijo–1984) and many others. His films represented Mexico in notable international film festivals. American directors as John Huston realized some Mexican-set English language films (i.e., Under the Volcano–1984).

What is now Videocine was established in 1979 as Televicine by Emilio Azcarraga Milmo, whose family founded Televisa, with which Videocine is co-owned. The company became the largest producer and distributor of theatrical movies in Mexico and remains such today. By the time of Videocine's establishment, it had become the norm for a Mexican movie to reach its largest post-theatrical audience through television carriage rights with any of the Televisa networks.

The 1961 film The Important Man (original title Animas Trujano) was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film and a Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1962. The 1965 film Always Further On won the FIPRESCI Prize at the 1965 Cannes Film Festival. The film was also selected as the Mexican entry for the Best Foreign Language Film at the 38th Academy Awards, but was not accepted as a nominee. Some films nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Films of the time are the 1960 Macario, 1962 The Pearl of Tlayucan (original title Tlayucan), 1975 Letters from Marusia (original title Actas de Marusia).

Nuevo Cine Mexicano (New Mexican Cinema)

Mexican cinema suffered through the 1960s and 1970s, until government sponsorship of the industry and the creation of state supported film helped create Nuevo cine Mexicano (New Mexican Cinema) in the 1990s. The period spanning the 1990s to the present has been considered as the prime era of the (New Mexican Cinema).

Sources, References & Credits: Google, Wikipedia, Wikihow, Pinterest, IMDB, Linked In, Indie Wire, Film Making Stuff, Hiive, Film Daily, New York Film Academy, The Balance, The Numbers, Film Maker, TV Guide Magazine, Media Match, Quora, Creative Skill Set, Investopedia, Variety, No Film School, Daily Variety, The Film Agency, Best Sample Resume, How Stuff Works, Career Trend, Producer's Code of Credits, Producers Guild of America, Film Connection, Entertainment Careers, Adhere Creative, In Deed, Glass Door, Pay Scale, Merriam-Webster, Job Monkey, Studio Binder, The Collective, Production Hub, The Producer's Business Handbook by John J. Lee Jr., Andrew Grant, Thought Company, Mexico News Network, Americas Quarterly, Oxford Bibliographies, Daily News, The Culture Trip, Film Museum, Mike McKinley

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