In order to celebrate the centenary of the 1910 revolution, this project came into realization. Ten Mexican filmmakers were to contribute ten short films that would tackle different aspects of Mexican life as they saw it. The result is a captivating, if uneven film. All the shorts have a theme which is obviously dear to the director telling the story.
The opening story about the tuba player, by Fernando Eimbcke, shows a local band rehearsing for what appears to be the visit of some kind of dignitary. The man who must travel a great distance, carrying his instrument, must come back for the event the following day. Imagine the town's disappointment when the visitor never shows. The tuba player takes advantage of the situation to play his part, even when there is no one around to appreciate it.
The next vignette by Patricia Riggen, shows a Chicana at her father's death bed. The old man wants to be buried in his native country, something that proves to be too costly for the daughter. She has the solution when she finds her father's gun, a relic from the revolution that allows her to give her old man his last wish.
Amat Escalante's "The Hanging Priest" has a touch of the surrealist, a la Luis Bunuel as a couple of youngsters that are supposedly married, come into a tree where a man is hanging from his feet. They free the man, and the trio continue on until their burro dies. Shot in wonderful black and white it gives us a glance of the magnificent countryside.
Gabriel Garcia Bernal's "Lucio" deals with religion. A visiting cousin has problems with the crucifix he finds on a wall. He takes the cross and hides it under the bed, something that angers his grandmother. Lucio, the other cousin, has other things in mind, something to do with the wide spectacle of the landscape in front of him that probably stands for a kind of belief of his own. It is an abstract, and reflective piece by the distinguished actor.
Carlos Reygadas' "This Is My Kingdom" probably exemplifies the theme of the revolution as a struggle much more than the rest. We are taken to a gathering in the countryside where people of all walks of life meet for a celebration. There, the bourgeois types mix with poor common folk. A little girl sets the tone for a celebration gone wrong by jumping into a car that is eventually stoned by the crowd and benches and tables end up being set on fire, thus giving us the idea of chaos that is typical of revolutions.
While most of the pieces are abstract in form, one could see the theme of how a hundred years after the Mexican revolution has an effect on its citizens. The remaining pieces have a point as well.
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