The new wave of mexican cinema

After the Golden Age of Mexican cinema in the 1930s and 1940s, since the 1990s, Mexican cinema engaged again in a process of creativity and artistic growth, clearly becoming the leading cinema movement in the Spanish-speaking world. Contemporary Mexican films like Como Agua Para Chocolate, Danzón, Cronos, La Mujer de Benjamín, Amores Perros, Y Tu Mamá También (which received an Oscar nomination), El Crimen del Padre Amaro and others have captivated audiences and critics alike, in Mexico and outside. Gael García Bernal, who acted in some of these movies, has emerged as the darling star of world cinema (see, for example, Pedro Almodóvar's La Mala Educación and Walter Salles's The Motorcycle Diaries). Mexico's most talented young filmmakers – including Alfonso Cuarón (Y Tu Mamá También, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban), Guillermo del Toro (Cronos, Hellboy), and Alejandro González Iñárritu (Amores Perros, 21 Grams) – have also crossed the border to win in Hollywood.

But last year, at the Cannes Film Festival, Mexico was also well represented: Battle in Heaven or Batalla en el cielo, by director Carlos Reygadas, was one of the most provocative and debated films in the official competition. And Sangre, a first film by 27 year old Amat Escalante (who assisted Carlos Reygadas in Batalla en el cielo) was also noticed in the section "Un certain Regard". Both films show sex in the cinema and life in an unconventional (realistic?) way. Indeed some of these movies, in particular Amores Perros, Batalla en el cielo or Sangre, display a kind of crude, raw even brutal side of everyday life reality. They are certainly a mirror to Mexican society, displaying some of its contradictions and dramas, although they only seem to open a little window on Mexico presentday life. Currently this seems to be the trend in Mexican cinema, although it remains to be seen whether this can be considered a new wave, a new movement, or whether we will get to see other type of more optimistic Mexican movies.

Checkout the most recent films Batalla en el cielo and Sangre and judge for yourself. In any case, the New Mexican cinema is a movement to follow very closely and I will wait eagerly for the next film to come out in Europe.

Read more on mexican cinema: Mexican Cinema in the '90s