Can Not-Mexican people really enjoy this movie?
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KinksRock — 14 years ago(January 06, 2012 10:11 AM)
I love watching movies set in locations other than where I live. I don't thik being Mexican or not Mexican has anything to do with it.
One of my favorite films is "Cinema Paradiso", and I don't think I have to live in Italy to get what it's about.
The Charm of Making: Anl nathrach, orth bhiss bethad, do chl dnmha -
michael_wafula — 13 years ago(April 07, 2012 06:53 AM)
African (Kenyan) guy here. Don't speak a word of Spanish, never been to Mexico but I think I know what you're talking about. Many, many similarities with my culture/country. My absolute favourite scene: When the three arrived at that guest house/restaraunt on the first night on the road and they're talking on the table; the beggar with hat in hand; as evening life continues outside as people pop in and out of shops going about their business; and as the waitress comes to take their order, the camera turns and follows this woman who walks, in acknowledges the beggar, turns a corner and walks up to join her friends; the old lady taking a huge swig of her drink and then busts a spontaneous dance; then you see the kitchen staff cooking the meals etc. Except for the brown instead of black people, this could have been in some rural village in Kenya.
I also loved the unfinished construction on the road, the police overtaking and arresting some elements by the roadside; haggling with the mechanic when their car broke down; the way that woman prepared that coconut(?) drink for the lady; even the lady with baby on her back waiting at the bus stand, I related to so much. I think its just shared developing world sensibilities. -
PoppyTransfusion — 13 years ago(August 12, 2012 10:40 AM)
Non-Mexicans may not appreciate the finer points of the film but its themes - love, life, death, mortality, growing up - are ones that anyone can identify with. Combine these with actors that inspire joie de vivre and an exploration of Mexico that most non-Mexicans could never access to enjoy and you have one fantastic film.
I'm a fountain of blood
In the shape of a girl -
GuyOnTheLeft — 13 years ago(November 04, 2012 01:58 AM)
You might be right. I didn't realise they were in Mexico until about halfway through the film; before that I took them for some reason to be from a South American country like Argentina.
See a list of my favourite films here: http://www.flickchart.com/slackerinc -
pako_dl — 13 years ago(January 28, 2013 10:46 PM)
I'm Mexican, you're right, I love this movie because it captures Mexico like no other Mexican movie has, it captures it not as a beauty, not as something ugly, it captures it as a fact. I think non Mexican people can enjoy this movie because it's a great movie, buy only Mexicans could truly relate to every aspect of it.
Whenever I get tiered of Mexican movies showing the decadence in Mexico, I go back and watch this movie. -
PamBaby — 13 years ago(February 06, 2013 06:46 AM)
I can't fully answer this question, because I'm not from Mexico and so I can never experience this movie from a different perspective, only as that of an American watching the movie. What I can say is that this movie completely changed my understanding of Mexico. As close as this country is to my own, being a direct neighbor, and despite having to take a course on it while in school, I was completely ignorant about Mexico and the Mexican people on a personal, day-to-day level. My viewpoint was completely informed through the daily news and documentaries that only spoke about disease, poverty, and crime. Co-workers and acquaintances from Mexico did nothing to dispel or temper this impression.
This movie, of course, also showed this side of life in Mexico. But it showed so much more than that. It humanized things I had only come to think of as "issues." More importantly, I saw for the first time, people of my own age group (at the time) living their lives and what I learned is that we are all so completely alike. All of us. This could be a movie set in the U.S. or Europe or anywhere. These characters are so easy to relate to.