Reviews

After 50 years, "Escuela de Música" becomes, from a light comedy with very popular songs in Latin America, in a document and example of what a "familiar movie" was back then in Mexico: some mockery, some situations to make you smile and a happy end. But this is probably the closest example of what a " musical super production" was, following the line of American movies. For Latin American music lovers is interesting due it features songs from different countries: Mexico -of course- (La Cumbancha, Estrellita, Alma Jarocha and Guadalajara, among others; Argentina (A media luz), Venezuela (Alma llanera), Cuba (El manicero) and Brazil (Aquarela do Brasil) sang in Portuguese --something quite rare in those days in Mexico, singing in other language. Lots of folkloric stylized dresses for shows and good orchestrations, some times filmed in b&w and some others in color -don't ask me why. Not an artistic jewel but a document of -more or less- how Mexican people sang, dressed and behave in those years. Simpatica!

I just watched this movie on Televisión Española and was excited because it was about Manuel Puig, the talented author of "La Traición de Rita Hayworth" and "Boquitas Pintadas" that I enjoyed so much being a teenager but... I am so disappointed with this film! It doesn't capture the personality of Puig (as far as I know, he was terribly funny) and doesn't capture either the creative process he went tr ought, not to say his opinions about literature or movies, which he loved so much. This film focus mainly in his homosexual affairs -boooring actually- without any other context. The dialogs are simple, every day stuff. The characters almost never say anything interesting and at the end of the film, if you haven't read Puig or know nothing about him, you can think its only another silly movie about a frustrated gay guy with a sad and boring life. Its a pity we never know, in this film, other aspects of his life; well, we don't even really know why he choose Mexico to live in! If you want be entertained for a couple of hours you should read the books I mentioned and laugh all the way.

Since I saw La Corte del Faraón, by the same director, I wish I could say La Marcha Verde is at least as funny... but it isn't. This film is quite boring, very silly, even if the idea probably was good -the camp element always present. Of course, as always, there are some funny moments and a couple of old songs very popular in the 50's like "El Beso", and even if the acting is good, there is not enough interesting action or dialogs or story. I mean, if the funniest line is: "¿Have you gone to bed with him? ¡Do'not be vulgar!.... I have'not yet, but I will". Now, you can have an idea of this film. I guess is like when you go to some restaurant and the menu list an apparently attractive dish, with nice ingredients but the result its very disappointing. So, go for La Corte del Faraón instead!

Three short stories carefully done in the style of those years, with lot of studio scenes and expressionist lighting. The main story (the Argentinian one) completely absurd, following the idea of supplanting somebody in "La Otra", "Dead Ringer" and "A Stolen Life" fashion. This film, as far as I know, was the first co-production between Mexico, Spain and Argentina. After 50 years, is still sort of entertaining because of the involuntary humor and some Mexico City landscapes. Two of its stars -Amparo Rivelles and Jorge Mistral- became very famous in Spanish speaking countries. Both worked very often in Mexico, on films, television or the stage.

This is September 2005 and I just saw Sweet Charity again after many years in Film & Arts TV channel. After checking some of the comments done in here, I would like to say that I had the chance, as teenager, to watch it in the year of its release, 1969 and boy, it was such a discovery! Actually, Bob Fosse was THE discovery. Everybody seemed to agree on that: choreography was so good, so new, so modern, so different! And some of the direction details so new -yes, like those frozen images, some of the editing! Actually, through we like it, after seeing those years Antonioni's Blow up, Losey's Modesty Blaise, Pasolini's Teorema, Lester's The Knack, Buñuel's Belle du jour, Lumet's The Group, Kubrick's 2001 or Polansky's Rosemaries Baby... well, Sweet Charity was sort of silly, but it was suppose to be silly!!! And still is. I have to admit that the Shirley McLaine character is actually close to retarded, which is not very glamorous, so the actress work seems even better! After so many years, I think this film deserve better comments if you judge it from the year it was done, so the main problem is clear: it was outdated even then! As you can notice from the films mentioned above and more done during those years like Schelinger's Darling, Visconti's The Damned, Wyler's The Collector, Nichol's Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf, Jawison's In the heat of the night or Lelouch's A man and a woman, with its share of abortion, homosexuality, racism, mental and sexual disorders el al (censorship was still very severe)as well new concepts of sexuality, freedom, beauty, goals, et al, Sweet Charity story was not only silly but boring. But, after all, it is a musical and it has its own virtues: the acting is good, the dancing is great, the songs catchy with some witty lyrics and you can see NY landmark places. It is actually a good example of what it was the genre then and why it changed. Later Fosse's Cabaret capitalized the experience (throught its not exactly the traditional musical since all the signing is done on a stage) and how Stephen Sondheim was the answer to the times. So, lets be fair and say Sweet Charity still gives some great entertaining, specially the singing and dancing parts, an example of real dancing, not like Chicago, in which the dancing is only a trick done by the editing.

After El Ultimo Cuplé, Montiel tells in her autobiography, signed three contracts: one with Benito Perrojo, another with Cesáreo González and one more with the Bacázar Bothers, for the making of 3 films with each one, getting for each movie 35 million of pesetas or 1 million dollars "...long before Elizabeth Taylor". La Violetera, she says "was more of a fairy tale story" but gave her the opportunity to choose the "right songs" as well her dresses and the decoration. An enormous success and "her favorite personal film", the Jose Padilla's "La Violetera" theme song was used long before in a movie: by Charles Chaplin in City Lights (1931). Many years later, like 30 or so, she would sing again this theme for a CD titled "Pusísimo", with her friend and famous opera singer Montserrat Caballé. Of course, it's a terrible and easy-to-forget version for both. It's in my opinion, that "La Violetera" is her first movie in which we can see how the camp myth is born since she was able to do whatever she wanted to do, including sort of self directing, so its no wonder that after this nice and corny film, she became more and more camp until she transformed herself in a Spanish Mae West but never the less, a diva.

After watching "Sandra...", for the first time in mi life I wanted to know who the director was. It was 1966 and me 15, so until that moment, I was only interested in who starred what but never fully understood the director's work enormous importance. Since then, Visconti not only became one of my favorite directors ever but a parameter when judging a film. Actually, I had seen The leopard years before, when I was to young to notice more than the beauty in Cardinale and the sumptuous sets. About "Sandra" I still remember vividly not only how beautiful and glamorous Cardinale looked but how handsome and elegant Sorel was; how mysterious the whole black and white atmosphere was and the intriguing plot... which I didn't fully understood because even if the action seemed to say something, the subtitles said something else!. I thought then my mother was right when she used to tell me: You are too young to understand this and that. Well, not without relief, I learn, years later, than the subtitles had been made in Spain, during the Franco's days, so its censorship had erased all incest traces. After that, a new copy was made to match subtitles and story (and thats, thankfully, what you can find, at least in Spanish!). But even after so many years, and in my adulthood, I find Sandra as magical as the first time and still is one of my favorite movies, as many Visconti's works like Rocco and his brothers, Death in Venice or The dammed, as well, of course, The Leopard.

Although everybody seems to like, more or less, this film, I didn't at all. Maybe I liked the train scene, but thats all. And I hated that silly character played by Bjork, and the silly melodies, and the silly lyrics, and the silly... oh well, never mind. What I would like to add here is about Ms. Deneuve -actually I'm a big fan of her: She didn't sing in Mademoiselles of Rochefort or neither The Cherbourg Umbrellas: She was doubled by Claude Parent and Danielle Licari respectively. She did sung just a song in 8 Woman and did a recording with music and lyrics by Serge Gainsbourg. And since I need to add a couple of lines to make 10 of them, I shall say Ms. Licari is quite a star in France and, oddly, in Asia. So, if someone like musicals, they should watch those french films than through old, are quite charming.

Although I liked very much the detailed review of "Melvelvit" I would like to add that this interesting film, one of the best in the Mexican movies history, is due to the collaboration of American writer Rian James and one of the most important Mexican writers of the era, José Revueltas, and the Mexican film director Roberto Gavaldón. Actually, "La Otra" is one of the best Del Río and Gavaldón films, as well the set designer Gunther Gerszo (sometimes written Gerzso or Gerzo)and photographer Alex Phillips, all important figures in the artistic Mexican world. The "gothic nightmare... somber night-world ambiance" is due to Mexican Gerszo, who studied and worked at the Cleveland Play House in the USA, and combined his movie jobs with painting, becoming one of the most important Mexican abstract painters. In movies, he worked with John Ford ("Sombrerito", in Hollywood), John Houston ("Under the Volcano"), Luis Buñuel ("Susana", "Una mujer sin amor" and "El Bruto" with Kathy Jurado) as well with the most important Mexican directors. He did the sets for Mexican cult films "El Vampiro" (The Vampire) and its sequel, El Ataud del Vampiro" (The Vampire Coffin) about which he claimed, never even watched once they were finished (and they're great as camp Mexican movies examples!)

Yes, this film is a copy of the Mexican one titled "La Otra", with Dolores del Río, filmed in 1946 on a story by Hollywood writer Rian James (and the help from Mexican director Roberto Gavaldón). And the surprise in here is that the Mexican film is, oddly, much much better! (actually, "La Otra" is considered by many as one of best Mexican films, and the same goes for Gavaldón, as one of his best movies and diva del Río). Although the Bette Davis version has Bette and that makes it unique, the story is so outdated for it was filmed so many years later. But the story is in its own way fascinating, so it was re-made for American TV under the title: "The killer and the mirror", with Ann Jullian, in 1986. So I guess you could sing that Coleman/Fields "Sweet Charity" song that goes something like "...in a copy of the copy of a copy of Dior".

This is not the best Spanish film ever made, or the one with the larger budget, but it was done with grace and dignity, getting the right mood before and after the General Franco years of dictatorship. Everybody act quite well, ¡but they sing even better! (Molina and Bandera). The music is great, if you like folk traditional Spanish music. This soundtrack is one of my favorites of that sort (as well the second one, although I did not see that movie). I became fan of the couple, specially Molina, who was one of the girls of Buñuel film "That obscure object of desire" (the other one was Carole Bouquet). An interesting point is the telling about how authorities and people though about homosexuality in those days. There are some coincidences with the life of Spanish singer Miguel de Molina, who after being incarcerated because of his homosexuality, went to live in exile to Argentina (he used to sing some of those songs too).

It is very important to note that this movie made Catherine Deneuve really an international star since the success it got everywhere (She had made many films like Les Demoiselles de Rochefort, Repulsion and Les Parapluies de Cherbourg, but finally everybody fell in love with here in this this movie). And this Buñuel's film was one of the first approaching kinky sex and all that stuff "in a serious movie". And the character she plays actually became a whore in the sake of getting "cure", as you can see at the end of the film, when the rejected lover shoots her husband (Jean Sorel). And she wore Yves Saint Laurent clothes too!