Top 5: Best in Mexican Cinema in 2010

[Editor’s note: I’ve asked our team of world film correspondents to dish out their top 5 films of the year from their respective countries. Here’s Christine Davila’s take on the Best in Mexican Cinema in 2010.]

To be clear, this is a list of Mexican films which either: traveled far in the 2010 film festival front, were critically acclaimed, received a healthy theatrical run, and which I consider the strongest celluloid among the Mexican narrative feature film trenches from where I culled and screened deep. Okay maybe not that deep, considering there are only about 100 feature narrative films produced in Mexico a year. But given that figure, this small percentage illustrates a strong dose of diversity and range of genre, budget, but more importantly original strong stories and voices. Before I begin….one special mention goes out to REVOLUCIÓN by Carlos Reygadas, Amat Escalante, Fernando Eimbcke, Mariana Chenillo, Patricia Riggen, Diego Luna, Gael Garcia Bernal, Gerardo Naranjo, Rodrigo Garcia, and Rodrigo Plá.

The first time I ever heard use of the word Portmanteau was when this movie starting popping up at festivals beginning with the world premiere at the Berlin Film festival in early 2010. It seemed as if every critic write up used the word to describe the ten, ten-minute short films that make up the film. Funded in part by the Mexican Film Commission as part of the centennial year anniversary, filmmakers apparently had full freedom to depict and capture a contemporary take on the mythic revolution. Naturally as with any collection of shorts-excuse me portmanteau, some shorts are naturally better than others. This gal’s favorites are The Hanging Priest by Amat Escalante (Los Bastardos, Sangre) and Beautiful and Beloved by Patricia Riggen (Under the Same Moon). It appears the film has yet to pick up a US theatrical distributor, however you can watch it on MUBI for a mere $3 bucks. Here we go with the Top 5 list.

#5. ITS NOT YOU ITS ME (NO ERES TU SOY YO) written and directed by Alejandro Springall
This soapy romance comedy about a guy who is the sad recipient of that unenviable break up line at the start of the movie, stars telenovela star Eugenio Dibrav (the hottie gruff father figure in Under the Same Moon). No doubt his wide appeal helped it claim the numero uno domestic box office spot in 2010. It did not however make a bent big enough to squeeze a national release spot in Mexico’s top ten box office grossing films, it did pass the 100 million peso mark (about 8 million USD). Although the notion is overused in general, this neurotic man-child hopeless and clueless about love merits the Woody Allen type of quirky – in this case over the top romantic comedy. Springall’s last film titled My Mexican Shiva also brought up the Woody comparison.

#4. ABEL – written and directed by Diego Luna
Diego Luna’s first narrative feature (boxing documentary portrait on Julio Caesar Chavez premiered in 2007) is nicely filmed and its tragedy is cloaked with an absurdist humor. Abel premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2010 and has gone on to several international festivals including Cannes and just recently, AFI. Its had a healthy theatrical run in Mexico, was picked up for UK distributor but has yet to announce a US distributor, strange enough. The quasi metaphoric tale about a boy who amusingly assumes the role of father of the house, a situation in which the psychologically tragic state of mind is daringly wrung for humor, successfully is touching and although a distinct signature style has not quite formulated, Luna has clearly learned from the esteemed directors he’s worked with.

#3. NORA’S WILL (Cinco Dias Sin Nora) written and directed by Mariana Chenillo
Since premiering back in 2008 Morelia Film Festival’s feature competition, this adult drama about a jewish family turned upside down in the aftermath of the suicide of the manipulative matriarch, who leaves a clever plan set in motion to restore old family wounds. Nora’s will enjoyed a limited theatrical run in select U.S. cities after sweeping this year’s Ariel Awards (you know, the Mexican Oscars). The film rightly earned the shout-outs in the states from Huffingtonpost, LA Times’ Kenny Turan, and even Leonard Maltin who rarely writes up foreign specialty fare. Its universal appeal is not mired in sugary sentimentalism but is imbued with strong wit, nuance and it is indeed an amazingly accomplished first feature from a talented and perceptive young woman.

#2. BIUTIFUL – written and directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu
It caused a few eyebrow raises when it was announced that it was Mexico’s candidate for a foreign Oscar nomination at the Academy Awards. I bet this intensely engrossing drama makes the final list come January 25th. Set in a sweaty grimy Spain, it marks the first Innaritu film not scripted by Guillermo Arriaga with whom he made his prominent debut into the national film world where everyone turned their head to see what was happening in the contemporary cinema of Mexico. Biutiful premiered in Cannes’ heavy-hitter Official Competition section where Bardem won Best Actor. I saw it at an 8:30am with a packed Telluride (white) audience who caused me to scoff at their syncophantic PRE-CREDIT applause only to be sufficiently emotionally rocked, riveted and touched. The cinematic supernatural hints demonstrate a fantastic touch of his amigo Del Toro’s. Seeing that no critic associations are serious about supporting Bardem, Roadside Attractions appears to have pushed back the release date to January.

#1. HELL (El Infierno) written and directed by Luis Estrada
From master satirist Luis Estrada (Herod’s Law) comes this audacious and graphic narco comedy starring super famous Mexican movie star Damian Alcazar. This perilous western in which weary deported migrant, El Benny returns to his hometown only to slip into the unforgiving violent drug crime which has rapaciously consumed his old rural town and killed his younger brother, elicits very uncomfortable laughter. Yet, arguably, for all the surreality, it doesn’t yield as insightful a commentary as Estrada’s previous films. The film’s release was oh so surreptitiously timed with Mexico spending an exhorbitant amount of money in 2010 for multiple extravagantly expensed produced “celebration” events, did give the film an added ravenous bite illustrated by the Mexico brand icon shot at at the beginning of the trailer. Its 12 week theatrical run is rare in the domestic release share, following second as top domestic grosser to the light and fluffy film, Its Not You its Me. And keep in mind that just steps from the big theater chain Cinepolis you can find the bootleg copy for very little pesos, so its all the more impressive folks came out to the theater to share this communally.