Review of ¡Qué Viva México! (1979) by Walter M — 13 Jul 2012
Like many a foreign film director, Sergei Eisenstein, of all people, also went to Hollywood to make his fortune but could not reach a deal with Paramount Pictures.(The more things change, the more things stay the same.) Instead, he hooked up with Upton Sinclair to make a movie about Mexico with Diego Rivera one of the guides.
"Que Viva Mexico" is the result of those efforts, restored some years after the fact and sadly missing one of its planned episodes that was never made due to low funds. This was apparently shot on silent film stock with sound effects and a musical soundtrack that veers between electronic and Ennio Morricone on acid added later.
"Que Viva Mexico" is a rousing ethnographic panorama of the country from pre-Colombian days to the then present day. Through these brief episodes, made with no professional actors, we get a wide glimpse of Mexico's changing attitudes and customs over times. For example, the sacrifices that now occur are the bulls in the ring, with an early use of the 'bull cam.'.
This review of ¡Qué Viva México! (1979) was written by Walter M on 13 Jul 2012.
¡Qué Viva México! has generally received very positive reviews.
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