Review of Cantinflas (2014) by Eddie G — 01 Sep 2014

I saw this film yesterday. As a Mexican-American who grew up watching his films. I can say that Oscar Jaenada was excellent. He really nailed channeling Cantinflas? in voice, body movements and character. I hope he at least gets an Oscar nod for this.

The U.S. Media keeps comparing Cantinflas to Charlie Chaplin, but I fail to see the similarities. Cantinflas was more of a socio-politico pundit. often ad-libbing his way with complicated double-entendres that at face value seemed non-sensical, but were in fact quite brilliant and often hilarious. Unfortunately, much of his brilliance gets lost in translation ? even among Spanish speakers from other countries, because so much of his musings were seeped in Mexican cynicism and slang. One of the few artists of the time brave enough to criticize the corrupt, wealthy elite -- not just in Mexico, but everywhere -- Cantinflas later became viewed as a sell-out by many of his fans because of his catering to that same class of elite once he became famous and wealthy. Even his wife and brother in law criticized him. It was a wake up moment for Cantinflas and that?s when he turned his energy toward philanthropy and humanitarian efforts in his native Mexico. Unfortunately, that's an important segment of his life that the film left out. In fact the film leaves out quite a bit. At 106 minutes, they could have done more with the film to include just how influential he became in Mexico as a philanthropist. But, alas, the budget just wasn?t there I guess. Nevertheless, I still appreciate the production of this film. While definitely a budget picture, I think the cinematography, scenery, wardrobe and music were great. Some of the acting from other actors was a little over-the-top, but the leads Oscar Jaeneda and Ilse Salas(who plays his wife) were great. I?d love to see more films like this.