Matilde Landeta entered the flourishing Mexican film industry in the 1930s, working her way up from script girl to direct 110 shorts and, in the late 40s, to produce and direct three features, including LA NEGRA ANGUSTIAS. In this engrossing documentary filmed in Mexico City, a vibrant Landeta, now in her 70s, recalls those years. Interviews with Mexican directors Marcela Fernandez-Violante and Maria Novaro enrich this illuminating tribute.
Tag: MEXICO
During the Mexican Revolution, Angustias, a proud and rebellious mixed-race woman, defies gender and racial oppression in her rural village. After killing a man who tries to rape her, she flees to the mountains and joins the Zapatista rebels. Proving her courage and leadership, she rises to become a coronela, fighting for justice and equality. Torn between love and her revolutionary ideals, Angustias ultimately dedicates herself to the struggle for freedom.
Set in 1940s northern Mexico, this film re-tells the story of “The Lonely Hearts Killers”, a famous couple of murderers who made victims of lonely and wealthy widows in the USA. Coral is a rotund and passionate nurse who knows handsome gigolo Nicolas Estrella and falls for him immediately. Nicolas rejects her because she’s not rich, but Coral is determined to get him at any cost. She abandons her children and follows the man in spite of his way of living. Together they will scheme to swindle and murder women who look for love and companions writing letters to a sentimental courier.
Carlos, a former factory worker of humble origins, has made millions – but the upper class refuses to accept him as one of their own. Meanwhile, Barbara, the spoiled daughter of an industrialist, is to enter into a loveless marriage of convenience. Tensions arise when the two fall madly in love.
Renata is a young high-class girl and Ulises is a poor guy. They both fall in love, but they must fight against everyone, specially Renata’s rich parents, who want to stop their love by sending her to Canada. The story remarks the difference between social classes in Mexico City, and their characters risk everything just to save their love.
In a subway station, a man watch a girl acting strange. He realizes that she may be attempting to commit suicide and tries to stop her, but the girl accuses him of being a molester.
Tired of being mistreated by their husbands, Ema, Clotilde, and Chayo leave their families and begin an adventure that takes them to a cavernous cabaret in Guadalajara, a love affair with a hot-blooded young drug dealer, and a popular, well-decorated Mexican restaurant in downtown L.A. Along the way, the three women find their respective self-esteem and their true reasons for living.