Mexican Challenge (Official, November 2020)

[blueboybob]

104. Instructions Not Included (2013) <--- I am a sap for movies like this. I loved this one.
105. We Are the Nobles (2013) <--- recommended by a coworker. Kind of reminded me of Schitt's Creek. A decent movie.
106. No manches Frida (2016)
107. Under the Volcano (1984)
108. Barroco (1989)
109. Post Tenebras Lux (2012) <--- I didn't like this one.
110. Nosotros los pobres (1948)
111. Black Wind (1965)
112. Museo (2018)
113. Esperanza (1988)
114. Doña Bárbara (1943)
115. Broken Sky (2006)
116. You're Missing the Point (1940)
117. Pueblerina (1949)
118. Strawberry and Chocolate (1993)

[zuma]

Last one

28 - Deep Crimson/Profundo carmesí (Arturo Ripstein, 1996) 7.5/10

Watched Mexican films

01 - The Chambermaid/La camarista (Lila Avilés, 2018) 7.5/10
02 - The Golden Dream/La jaula de oro (Diego Quemada-Diez, 2013) 7/10
03 - The Crime of Father Amaro/El crimen del Padre Amaro (Carlos Carrera, 2002) 6.5/10
04 - Leap Year/Año bisiesto (Michael Rowe, 2010) 7/10
05 - Time to Die/Tiempo de morir (Arturo Ripstein, 1966) 8/10
06 - The Castle of Purity/El castillo de la pureza (Arturo Ripstein, 1973) 7.5/10
07 - Salón México (Emilio Fernández, 1949) 6.5/10
08 - The Good Girls/Las niñas bien (Alejandra Marquez Abella, 2018) 7.5/10
09 - I'm No Longer Here/Ya no estoy aqui (Fernando Frias, 2019) 6.5/10
10 - The Other One/La otra (Roberto Gavaldón, 1946) 6.5/10
11 - Titixe (Tania Hernandez Velasco, 2018) 7.5/10
12 - The Chosen Ones/Las elegidas (David Pablos, 2015) 7/10
13 - Abel (Diego Luna, 2010) 5/10
14 - Somos Mari Pepa (Samuel Kishi, 2013) 6/10
15 - Nora's Will/Cinco días sin Nora (Mariana Chenillo, 2008) 6/10
16 - The Last Christeros/Los últimos cristeros (Matias Meyer, 2011) 7.5/10
17 - The 4th Company/La 4ª Compañía (Amir Galván Cervera & Mitzi Vanessa Arreola, 2016) 4.5/10
18 - La Mancha de Sangre (Adolfo Best-Maugard, 1937) 5/10
19 - Hell Without Limits/El lugar sin límites (Arturo Ripstein, 1978) 7/10
20 - We Are Always Walking/Siempre andamos caminando (Dinazar Urbina Mata, 2017) 6.5/10
21 - Fausto (Andrea Bussmann, 2018) 7/10
22 - I Dream in Another Language/Sueño en otro idioma (Ernesto Contreras, 2017) 5/10
23 - The Prize/El premio (Paula Markovitch, 2011) 5/10
24 - Perpetuum Mobile (Nicolás Pereda, 2009) 7.5/10
25 - Summer of Goliath/Verano de Goliat (Nicolás Pereda, 2010) 7/10
26 - Greatest Hits/Los mejores temas (Nicolás Pereda, 2012) 6.5/10
27 - Bleak Street/La calle de la amargura (Arturo Ripstein, 2015) 7/10
28 - Deep Crimson/Profundo carmesí (Arturo Ripstein, 1996) 7.5/10

[sol]

Last one

28 - Deep Crimson/Profundo carmesí (Arturo Ripstein, 1996) 7.5/10

I was hoping you'd get to Aunt Alejandra this month, but I guess at least you know that it's available now. Thanks for keeping me on my toes this challenge with your neck-in-neck participation with me.

107. Under the Volcano (1984)
...
118. Strawberry and Chocolate (1993)

I need to work out some time how IMDb works out country order. Under the Volcano is another borderline case. Looking through the crew, there seems to be quite a bit of Mexican talent involved, so I guess I can't rule it out, but yeah, I don't know if I would be comfortable including it myself.

I think I will rule out of Strawberry and Chocolate though. How do you feel about rewatching the film.... TOMORROW. It's Cuban and could have helped you get up to 36 in December.

[blueboybob]

I feel so bad Sol

I wish there was a better way to 100% know if something was right. Just please know I'm not trying to "sneak" anything by. Just using IMDB search for cod MX is easiest.

[jeroeno]

Two final films for the list.
45. Verano de Goliat (Nicolás Pereda, 2010) **1/2
46. Año bisiesto (Michael Rowe, 2010) ***1/2

Thanks for hosting again sol

Spoiler

01. Pueblerina (Emilio Fernández, 1949) ***1/2
02. El camino de la vida (Alfonso Corona Blake, 1956) ****
03. Ya no estoy aqui (Fernando Frias, 2019) ***1/2
04. Fausto (Andrea Bussmann, 2018) ***1/2
05. La noche avanza (Roberto Gavaldón, 1952) ****
06. La diosa arrodillada (Roberto Gavaldón, 1947) ***1/2
07. Aventurera (Alberto Gout, 1950) ***
08. Titixe (Tania Hernandez Velasco, 2018) ***1/2
09. Intimidades de Shakespeare y Víctor Hugo (Yulene Olaizola, 2008) ***
10. Calabacitas tiernas (Gilberto Martínez Solares, 1949) ***
11. La Libertad del Diablo (Everardo González, 2017) ***1/2
12. El esqueleto de la señora Morales (Rogelio A. González, 1960) ****
13. La región salvaje (Amat Escalante, 2016) **** 1/2
14. Santa Teresa Y Otras Historias (Nelson Carlo de Los Santos Arias, 2015) ***
15. Distinto amanecer (Julio Bracho, 1943) ***
16. Las niñas bien (Alejandra Marquez Abella, 2018) **1/2
17. Danzón (María Novaro, 1991) ***
18. Viento negro (Servando González, 1965) ****
19. La puerta y la mujer del carnicero (Ismael Rodríguez, Luis Alcoriza, 1969) ***1/2
20. Carmín Tropical (Rigoberto Pérezcano, 2014) **1/2
21. Club sándwich (Fernando Eimbcke, 2013) ***1/2
22. Tempestad (Tatiana Huezo, 2016) ***
23. Dos tipos de cuidado (Ismael Rodríguez, 1953) ***
24. La camarista (Lila Avilés, 2018) ***1/2
25. Doña Herlinda y su hijo (Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, 1985) **
26. Los insólitos peces gato (Claudia Sainte-Luce, 2013) ***1/2
27. El Grito (Leobardo López Aretche, 1968) ***1/2
28. Cabeza de Vaca (Nicolás Echevarría, 1990) ****
29. Matinée (Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, 1977) ***1/2
30. Cascabel (Raúl Araiza, 1977) ***1/2
31. Rosauro Castro (Roberto Gavaldón, 1950) ***1/2
32. Mil nubes de paz cercan el cielo, amor, jamás acabarás de ser amor (Julián Hernández, 2003) *
33. La otra (Roberto Gavaldón, 1946) ***1/2
34. La Maldad (Joshua Gil, 2015) ***
35. En el hoyo (Juan Carlos Rulfo, 2006) ***
36. Ladrón de cadáveres (Fernando Méndez, 1957) **1/2
37. Víctimas del pecado (Emilio Fernández, 1951) ***1/2
38. Profundo carmesí (Arturo Ripstein, 1996) ***
39. Abel (Diego Luna, 2010) **
40. Un Buñuel mexican (Emilio Maillé, 1997) ***1/2
41. La mujer de mi hermano (Ricardo de Montreuil, 2005) **
42. Quebranto (Roberto Fiesco, 2013) ***
43. Vuelven (Issa López, 2017) ****
44. Somos lo que hay (Jorge Michel Grau, 2010) ***
45. Verano de Goliat (Nicolás Pereda, 2010) **1/2
46. Año bisiesto (Michael Rowe, 2010) ***1/2

[sol]

I feel so bad Sol

I wish there was a better way to 100% know if something was right. Just please know I'm not trying to "sneak" anything by. Just using IMDB search for cod MX is easiest.

It's okay; don't sweat it. If it helps, I'm happy for you to send me your watch-list for the month in December and I can let you know which of the films in it strike me as genuine Caribbean productions.

[sol]

Oh, while I am here:



I am expecting to release the final results some time after 2:30pm GMT tomorrow, which gives you 28 hours to list any other stuff here that you have seen in November if you haven't already.

[Mario Gaborović]

19. Roma (2018)
20. Simón del desierto (1965)
21. El crimen del Padre Amaro (2002)

Spoiler

01. La momia azteca contra el robot humano (1958)
02. El callejón de los milagros (1995)
03. María Candelaria (Xochimilco) (1944)
04. Cronos (1993)
05. Vámonos con Pancho Villa! (1936)
06. Ánimas Trujano (El hombre importante) (1961)
07. Aventurera (1950)
08. La llorona (1933)
09. Robinson Crusoe (1954)
10. Subida al cielo (1952)
11. Sólo con tu pareja (1991)
12. Gran Casino (1947)
13. La ilusión viaja en tranvía (1954)
14. Él (1953)
15. Magueyes (1963) + Miró, l'altre (1969) + Mi piel, luminosa (2019)
16. Ensayo de un crimen (1955)
17. En la palma de tu mano (1951)
18. Pastorela (2011)

[ororama]

5. Miss Bala (2011) * 113 min.

Spoiler

1. Vuelven/ Tigers Are Not Afraid (2017) * 84 min.
2. La maldición de la Llorona/ The Curse of the Crying Woman (1963) 80 min.
3-4. Diablero: The Demons are Among Us (2018) * 40 min.
Diablero: Leg of a Dog, Heart of a Chicken (2018) * 38 min.
Diablero: The Hidden Children (2018) * 38 min.
Diablero: An Arcane Incantation (2018) * 37 min.
Diablero: The Conclave (2018) * 42 min.
Diablero: A Woman Diablero (2018) * 44 min.
Diablero: Four Tombs (2018) * 40 min.
Diablero: Red Sky (2018) * 36 min.

*First time viewing.

[peeptoad]

Thanks for hosting, sol. I tailed off mightily and wanted to watch far more than I did, but that's how life is right now...

[max-scl]

My final log:

13. Los mejores temas (2012) Another good movie from Nicolás Pereda to watch in conjuction with his previous ones
14. Nazarin (1959)
15. Enamorada (1946) Loved this
16. Tropico de Cáncer (2004) Good simple documentary
17. La diosa arrodillada(1947)

And some Ripstein movies I watched this month:

18. Tiempo de Morir (1966) Excellent
19. El santo oficio (1974) The Last 20 minutes are great.
20. Cadena Perpetua (1979) Good
21. El Imperio de la fortuna (1986) Good
22. Profundo Carmesí (1996) Different approach in style, less gritty, more stagey and with more comedy, but equally dark themes.



Just to help sol, some of the films logged by blueboybob that I wouldn't consider Mexican:

From Afar (2015) --->Venezuela
Alba (2016) ---> Ecuador
Cronicas (2004) ---> Ecuador
Johnny One Hundred Pesos (1993) --->Chile
The Maid (2009) --->Chile

And not sure about these:
Alsino and the Condor (1982)
Sand Dollars (2014)

[flavo5000]

Just to help sol, some of the films logged by blueboybob that I wouldn't consider Mexican:

From Afar (2015) --->Venezuela

Yea, I own the DVD of this one and had originally set it aside to watch for this challenge based on it showing up as a Mexican-produced feature. But after reading what it's about and looking into it more, it definitely is a Venezuelan movie than just happened to have some Mexican money thrown at it.

Boogie is one I just watched that falls in the same bucket I decided not to count. Co-produced by Mexico but is basically an Argentinian film. Argentine actors, director, etc.

[flavo5000]

Last post. Thanks sol for hosting!

53. This Is Not a Movie (2011)

Spoiler

1. Las luchadoras contra el médico asesino a.k.a. Doctor of Doom (1963)
2. Santo contra los zombies a.k.a. Santo vs the Zombies (1962)
3. Las luchadoras contra la momia a.k.a. Wrestling Women vs the Aztec Mummy (1963)
4. Cilantro y perejil (1998)
5. No se aceptan devoluciones a.k.a. Instructions Not Included (2013)
6. The Bees (1978)
7. Demonoid: Messenger of Death (1981)
8. Atroz (Atrocious) (2015)
9. La barraca (1945)
10. El pecado de Adán y Eva a.k.a. Sin of Adam & Eve (1969)
11. Museo del horror (1964)
12. The Black Scorpion (1957)
13. El libro de piedra a.k.a. The Book of Stone (1969)
14. Mary, Mary, Bloody Mary (1975)
15. Santo vs. las mujeres vampiro a.k.a. Santo vs the Vampire Women (1962)
16. Dos abrazos (2007)
17. La momia azteca contra el robot humano a.k.a. The Robot vs the Aztec Mummy (1958)
18. Perdita Durango a.k.a. Dance of the Devil (1997)
19. Brijes 3D a.k.a. Guardians of the Lost Code (2010)
20. For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada (2012)
21. Más negro que la noche a.k.a. Darker Than The Night (1975)
22. Ando volando bajo (1959)
23. Cyclone (1978)
24. Come Out and Play (2012)
25. Nazarín (1959)
26. Fear Chamber (1968)
27.Caperucita y Pulgarcito contra los monstruos a.k.a. Little Red Riding Hood and Tom Thumb vs the Monsters (1962)
28. Japón (2002)
29. Herencia diabólica (1994)
30. Como agua para chocolate a.k.a. Like Water for Chocolate (1992)
31. Satanás de todos los horrores (1974)
32. Sueño en otro idioma a.k.a. I Dream In Another Language (2017)
33. Hotel Colonial (1987)
34. Ahí va el diablo a.k.a. Here Comes The Devil (2012)
35. Su excelencia (1967)
36. Miss Bala (2011)
37. Chosen Survivors (1974)
38. El hombre que logró ser invisible a.k.a. Invisible Man in Mexico (1958)
39. Fando y Lis (1968)
40. Ladrones de tumbas a.k.a. Grave Robbers (1989)
41. La Otra (1946)
42. La noche de los mil gatos a.k.a. Night of a Thousand Cats (1972)
43. Stellet Licht a.k.a. Silent Light (2007)
44. The Mansion of Madness (1973)
45. Santo en el museo de cera a.k.a. Santo In The Wax Museum (1963)
46. La loba a.k.a. The She-Wolf (1965)
47. El Diablo Ha Invadido Mi Sangre (2019)
48. Terror y encajes negros a.k.a. Terror & Black Lace (1985)
49. One Minute Before Death a.k.a. The Oval Portrait (1972)
50. Sicario: Day of the Soldado (2018)
51. Museo (2018)
52. Un monstruo de mil cabezas a.k.a. Monster with a Thousand Heads (2015)
53. This Is Not a Movie (2011)

[sol]

Thanks for hosting, sol. I tailed off mightily and wanted to watch far more than I did, but that's how life is right now...

Things can only get better.

And some Ripstein movies I watched this month:

How do these compare to Aunt Alejandra? I think that's the best film that I have seen from Ripstein so far. Readily available online too of course.

Just to help sol, some of the films logged by blueboybob that I wouldn't consider Mexican:

From Afar (2015) --->Venezuela
Alba (2016) ---> Ecuador
Cronicas (2004) ---> Ecuador
Johnny One Hundred Pesos (1993) --->Chile
The Maid (2009) --->Chile

Oh, I have actually seen From Afar and Cronicas (for last year's Latin American Challenge) and I agree that they fit in better with those countries than Mexico, but they get off on a technicality since they were considered Mexican enough to nominated for Ariel Awards. Same for Alba too, though not seen that one.

I agree with your assessment of Johnny and The Maid though, so if I take those and the Cuban film off BBB, it puts him on 115 for when I next update the leaderboard. Doesn't impacting on him winning this though.

[blueboybob]

NOT SURE COUNT, but will start with last number. Last 4 from last night.

119. The Last Christeros (2011)
120. In the Pit (2006) <--- i really like this one too.
121. Drought (2011)
122. Parque vía (2008)

Thanks again for hosting!

[blocho]

9. El Angel Exterminador (1962)
10. Museo (2018)

[RogerTheMovieManiac88]

Just a few Mex-noirs from me, Sol. I ended up focusing on the other two November challenges.

(Screenshot of Leticia Palma, who so impresses in Morayta's darkly humanistic 'Vagabunda')

1. La Diosa arrodillada / The Kneeling Goddess (1947, Roberto Gavaldón) - 8.5/10
2. Ventarrón (1949, Chano Urueta) - 7/10
3. Vagabunda / Tramp (1950, Miguel Morayta) - 9.5 or 10/10
4. La huella de unos labios / The Imprint of Some Lips (1952, Juan Bustillo Oro) - 7/10
5. Miss Bala (2019, Catherine Hardwicke) - 5 or 5.5/10

[sol]

DEADLINE
Final results will be posted between 2:30pm and 3:00pm GMT on December 2 - at which point it will have been December everywhere in the world for more than a whole day.

Sorry, guys - this isn't going to happen today. Something that is due to tomorrow ended up taking longer than expected tonight. I will, however, aim to wrap everything up by this time tomorrow; earlier if possible.

[sol]

MEXICAN CHALLENGE

R E S U L T S


Many thanks to all 27 participants. This was a particularly fruitful challenge for me, resulting in three new additions to my 500<400 list. Full results are up-to-date in the OP. These are the participants who scored the highest:

Rank	Participant	Count
1	blueboybob	119
2	Traveller	57
3	flavo5000	55
4	jeroeno	46
5	jdidaco	38
6	sol	32
7	zuma	28
8	max-scl	22
9	Mario Gaborović	21
10	Lu-Chin	18

Hope to see you all in December as we move slightly to the east for the Caribbean.

[max-scl]

Thanks for hosting sol, I did better than expected-

How do these compare to Aunt Alejandra? I think that's the best film that I have seen from Ripstein so far. Readily available online too of course.

Unfortunately I haven't seen it Only because there is no HD release of it yet.

[max-scl]

3. Vagabunda / Tramp (1950, Miguel Morayta) - 9.5 or 10/10

Never heard of this, but now I'm intrigued.

[RogerTheMovieManiac88]

3. Vagabunda / Tramp (1950, Miguel Morayta) - 9.5 or 10/10

Never heard of this, but now I'm intrigued.

I found it to be a pretty devastating and piercingly poignant noir, centred upon a sidelined, struggling urban district of malcontent and uncertain existence. Morayta's eye for little scenes and interactions that give a fragile, threatened humanity to those caught up in this locale made it even more fascinating. jdidaco posted some really nice thoughts on it in the Unofficial Challenge thread in relation to two other films from Morayta. I noted down a few thoughts over on the film's MUBI page as well.

I hope you have the chance to see it and that you might end up liking it, max! Definitely one I shall carry fondly with me! For all the noirish darkness, there's a resilience and a poetry that I was entranced by.