Here's some advice for Cinco de Mayo: Don't go with the obvious celebrations. Sure, a pilgrimage to a Mexican eatery and bellying up to a bean burrito and brawny margarita might seem a suitable way to commemorate the Mexican victory over French forces in 1862, but come Seis de Mayo, you might regret your decision.
Here's an alternative. Some of the most exciting and interesting filmmakers working today call Mexico home, so instead of risking bean bloat and tequila trauma, check out a few fine specimens of cinema, south of the border style:
AMORES PERROS (2000): Three stories intersect at the scene of a tragic car crash in this bold narrative that incorporates love, death, dog fights and the social strata of Mexico City into a moving (and surprisingly cohesive) cinematic experience.
Y TU MAMA TAMBIEN (2001): Using a road trip shared by two young men and an older woman to a mythical beach as a framework, this film also explores the idea of social strata. The societal divide in Mexico between the haves and the have-nots becomes as important to the narrative as the loss and discovery of emotional innocence that marks the protagonists' story arcs.
CRONOS (1993): A tragic monster movie, Cronos combines the traditions of Latin magical realism with the iconography of vampire films. The result is a film about an immortal old man and the little girl who loves him that's both inspiring and heartbreaking.
EL MARIACHI (1992): Filmed by American director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City, Spy Kids) for the Mexican video market, this ultra-low budget film follows an unwitting musician mistaken for a killer with a guitar case full of guns. The result is a movie full of amazing and creatively kinetic fun. The character proved so popular that he was brought back (this time played by Spanish actor Antonio Banderas) in Desperado and Once Upon a Time in Mexico.
COMO AGUA PARA CHOCOLATE (1992): Although ostensibly about love and food, this film (called Like Water for Chocolate in its U.S. release) is really a fond remembrance of a Mexico that might have never existed. When produced, it was the most expensive movie ever made in Mexico and when released, the most successful. The Mexican film industry owes the film a lot.
Reach Steven Uhles at (706) 823-3626 or steven.uhles@augustachronicle.com.
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