by Alfredo Galindo
These past days of political turmoil into the 2024 Presidential Election some film critics agreed that, unlike the 60s and 70s when political charged films from “The Manchurian Candidate” (John Frankenheimer, 1962) to “All the President´s Men” (Alan J. Pakula, 1976) reflected the clashes inside politics and the media, movies like that were absent in the theatres or even on streaming … probably because social media has taken their part for more worse that better.
In recognition of that, here´s a list of some of the most important films related for political, religious, or social issues into the Mexican American and Mexican history that have been even banned for their incendiary stands before the shaken reality of their times:
” SALT OF THE EARTH” (Herbert J. Biberman, 1954)
Turning 70 this year, this film based on the actual strike against the Empire Zinc Mine in New Mexico, as it dealt with the prejudice against the Mexican American workers who struck to attain wage party with Anglo workers in other mines not only put in jail her leading Mexican actress Rosaura Revueltas (being the rest of the cast mostly the real lige protagonists of the story and had the film blacklisted in the US for 11 years and not shown until 1965 mostly due to the McCarthyism era.
Now streaming on: MGM Plus, Plex, Pluto, Prime Video and Tubi
”LA SOMBRA DEL CAUDILLO” (Julio Bracho, 1960)
Julio Bracho, one of the most iconic Golden Age of Mexican Film Industry filmmakers, got the approval and support even from the government of its time to make this adaptation of the 1929 post-revolutionary novel of the same name title, “The Shadow of the Leader” by exiled in Spain writer Martín Luis Guzmán, tells the real story of the political assassination of a political candidate who dare to opposed the election of the successor of the President Álvaro Obregón (1920-1924). Even with the real names changed as the book, this film starring among others actor Ignacio López Tarso (“Macario”) was banned from the public and theatres for 30 years, until 1990, 12 years after his director passed away.
Now streaming on: Prime Video and Tubi
“ROSA BLANCA” (Roberto Gavaldón, 1961)
Also starring Ignacio López Tarso, this was the second pairing of him with director Gavaldón after their Academy Award nominated “Macario” telling the story of Jacinto Yañez (López Tarso), an illiterate Indian who lives as a landowner of “Rosa Blanca”, a ranch on Mexico´s Gulf Coast until the greed of a US oil company gets in the way, he gets murdered and the lives of all those around him are irrevocably destroyed as the company takes over the land by crooked means. Based on the novel by B. Traven (also author of “Macario”), the film was banned from the public and theatres for over a decade, an ironically released in 1972 it won Ignacio López Tarso his only Ariel (the Mexican equivalent of the Academy Award) of his filmography.
”LA VIDA NEGRA” (Arturo Ripstein, 1977)
Based on the play “We should have female priests instead” by Rafael Solana, this film tells the story of Matea (Isela Vega), an orphan who assists a priest of a parish and after the village doctor tries to seduce her but fails, he proceeds to defame her into believing that Matea maintains relations with the priest. Similarly to “Rosa Blanca”, the film got banned for six years because the lead of the Radio, TV and Cinematography of the Government who happened to be the president´s sister considered it “blasphemous” until a new presidency came in 1983 resulting on Isela Vega winning the Ariel Award for Best Actress of that year.
”LA LEY DE HERODES” (Luis Estrada, 1999)
The first collaboration between actor Damián Alcázar and director Luis Estrada before his latest “Que Viva Mexico” has Alcázar as Juan Vargas, a poor janitor who after the corrupt former Mayor is killed by peasants, is appointed the new Mayor of a desert town in central Mexico, and although he tries to bring the motto of the ruling party to town (modernity, peace and progress), he realizes soon that there´s nothing to do against corruption … except to become corrupt. Although the then still ruling party in Mexico tried to ban this comedy at the time, it got a wide release which some said pushed to the first democratic win from the opposition and winning the main Ariel Awards of that year including Best Picture; Best Director; Best Actor and Best Supporting Actress to Isela Vega, among others. Now streaming on: Netflix