La ley de Herod

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Movie
Original title La ley de Herod
Country of production Mexico
original language Spanish
Publishing year 1999
length 120 minutes
Rod
Director Luis Estrada
script Luis Estrada ( script )
Jaime Sampietro (script and screenplay)
Vicente Leñero (script)
Fernando León de Aranoa (script)
production Luis Estrada
Sandra Solares
music Santiago Ojeda
camera Norman Christianson
cut Luis Estrada
occupation

La ley de Herodes is a1999 Mexican film directed by the film director Luis Estrada . The film is a black, political comedy and satire that - set in the past -deals withthe current problem of corruption . The action takes place in 1949, when the corrupt mayor of a small town is murdered by the citizens. Juan Vargas, a loyal party member, is installed in his place. He tries to run the city honestly, but realizes that without integrating himself into the corrupt political system, he will not get anywhere. So he uses the law to get money, intimidates the residents with his pistol and becomes a murderer. Ultimately, however, the residents drive him away. At the end of the film, Juan Vargas gives a speech to parliament as a member of the Congress.

The film La ley de Herodes found an international audience and good reviews, but there were complications around the release that were perceived as censorship because the Partido Revolucionario Institucional was mentioned directly. As a result of loud criticism, the director of the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía , Eduardo Amarena , gave up the rights to the film, so that Estrada alone was responsible for the performance. The film then reached a large audience in Mexico and was also shown in the USA and Europe.

La ley de Herodes received numerous prizes, including the golden Premio Ariel for the best film in 2000 and the silver Ariel in nine other categories.

action

In 1949, the corrupt mayor of San Pedro de los Saguayos, who had enriched himself at his post and tried to flee with the money he had stolen, was murdered by the angry citizens. In search of a replacement, the provincial governor López appoints the scrap dealer Juan Vargas as the new mayor because he is a loyal and long-serving member of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional . Vargas drives with his wife, who sees this position as the first step on the career ladder, to the remote village, which is predominantly inhabited by Indians who cannot speak Spanish and whose school can no longer be used. He tries to do good for the village and, for example, responds to the complaint of the doctor who belongs to the Partido Acción Nacional and tries to close the local brothel . In doing so, Vargas has reached its limits as the financial means are lacking.

On the advice of his wife, Vargas goes to the governor to ask for money. On the way he breaks down his car and has to rely on the help of an American who carries out the simple repairs, but asks Vargas a lot of money for it, which Vargas cannot pay. At the party headquarters, the mayor gives the governor a pig as a gift, but receives no financial support. Instead, Vargas receives a copy of the Mexican Constitution and a revolver. Back in San Pedro de los Saguayos, Juan Vargas lets the brothel owner Doña Lupe bribe him with money and also takes up her offer to visit the brothel for free. The corrupt priest supports the change of Juan Vargas, who invents laws and collects new taxes. The American, who is employed by Vargas to modernize the place, joins them. In order to convince the most influential people in the town of these developments, Vargas and his wife organize a dinner at which he will present his ideas for following President Miguel Alemán Valdés ' plan to modernize the country. Vargas also announced a visit from the president.

When Vargas tried to use the brothel again, he was stopped and humiliated by Doña Lupe and her husband, whereupon he shot the owner of the brothel in the foot. During the night, Juan Vargas ambushes them and shoots them. He disposed of the corpses in a valley. His wife suspects him of having been with the whores again that night, and she subsequently cheats with the American. However, she is caught by her husband. The American has to flee while Vargas beats his wife and then chains him. His situation worsened, and when the governor and a helper came into the village to ask for money from Vargas, Vargas murdered them after discovering that his wife had fled with the money. A riot breaks out in the village. The citizens circle around Vargas armed with torches, and he climbs onto the only power pole in the village.

However, Juan Vargas is not murdered like his predecessor, but saved. At the end of the film, as President, he gives a speech to the Congress of the Union of Mexico , in which he proclaims that the Partido Revolucionario Institucional must never lose the government. Then you can see the new mayor coming to San Pedro de los Saguayos. With that the film ends.

background

The production company for La ley de Herodes was Bandidos Films , supported by Alta Vista Films , Nu Vision, and the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía . The film was shot in Mexico City and Tehuacán . The film was devoted to the topic of corruption in Mexico and sparked heated controversy because of the mention of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional , although the film is set in the 1950s. This direct reference to the party had only occurred once in the history of Mexican film . In 1960 Julio Bracho filmed La sombra del caudillo , which fell victim to 30 years of censorship due to its critical reference to the PRI. A censorship discussion also flared up around La ley de Herodes after the first performances did not take place or failed under various pretexts and circumstances. A performance in the Cineteca Nacional was run with a very poor quality film copy, a commercial performance in the Cinemark 12 cinema was canceled due to problems with the projector. This preconceived about Bertha Navarro , member of the Association of independent film producers, and Isela Vega as a new form of censorship on. After criticism from numerous filmmakers that he had given in to pressure from party officials and sabotaged the screening of the film, the director of the Instituto Mexicano de Cinematografía, Eduardo Amarena , relinquished the rights to the film so that Estrada was solely responsible for the performance. The film reached a large audience in Mexico and was a financial success. It was also shown in the United States and Europe, but where it was unable to achieve the thematic influence of its country of origin. In part, the film was seen as a contribution to the decline of the Partido Revolucionario Institucional, which, however, overrated its influence.

The film has a number of points that were particularly appealing and exceptional to Mexicans, but which Americans and Europeans did not reach in that way. The use of a photograph of Miguel Alemán Valdés in Governor López's office as a direct historical reference to Mexican politics and the party caused a sensation for Mexicans. Humorous allusions such as the recognition of the famous Mexican comedian Tin Tan in a photograph of the scrap dealer, whom López then made mayor, remained closed to just as many foreigners. The film, whose images are kept in dark, earthy colors, often works with symbols. Even the figures are not specially worked out as characters, but merely refer to certain behaviors; the undermining of the state through corruption is shown in the opening scene, in which the corrupt mayor is gathering up the stolen money, through the image of the in a hollowed out edition of the Constitution expressed in hidden money.

criticism

The website Metacritic has a value of 64 out of 100 points for LA ley de Herodes , with seven positive and four neutral reviews. In the Boston Globe described Wesley Morris the film as "funny, evocatively photographed, and vibrantly acted salvo, and it works as a pessimistic slap upside the head of corrupt Governments everywhere." The film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times , Roger Ebert , felt the film as brave and daring, but the figures are only designed as symbols and not as characters. In doing so, he expressed widespread criticism. He wrote: “The film is bold and passionate, but not subtle, and that is its downfall. Luis Estrada […] uses his characters so clearly as symbols that he neglects to give them the complexity of human beings. ”Carla Meyer from the San Francisco Chronicle sums up La ley de Herodes :“ the film portrays the scandal-plagued PRI as a corrupt, whoring, murdering nightmare. "She wrote:" Herod's suffers from its enthusiasm, so fueled by anger and emotion that storytelling grows clouded. Irreverence gives way to polemic, then to an orgy of violence. ”Like Egbert, she criticized the lack of subtlety in political criticism.

Awards

La ley de Herod won several prizes. In 2000, the film received the from the de Academia Mexicana Arts and Sciences Cinematográficas conferred Ariel Award in Gold for Best Film . In addition, the film won nine silver Ariels. Damián Alcázar was named Best Actor, Pedro Armendáriz Jr. and Isela Vega were named Best Supporting Actor and Supporting Actress, and Juan Carlos Colombo was named Best Actor in a Small Role. Luis Estrada received the Premio Ariel for best director and together with Jaime Sampietro , Fernando León de Aranoa and Vicente Leñero for the best directly adapted screenplay. The film was also awarded the prize in three artistic categories. So was María Estela Fernández him for Best Costume Design, Alfredo Mora and Felipe Salazar for the best makeup and Salvador Parra for the best production design.

At the Havana Film Festival in 2000, Luis Estrada received the award for the best editing as well as the Award of the Havana University, the CARACOL Award and the Martin Luther King Memorial Center Award. At the Sundance Film Festival in 2000, Estrada received the Latin America Cinema Award, but it was shared with the film No Post for the Colonel ( El Coronel no tiene quien le escriba ). At the Valladolid International Film Festival in the same year, Damián Alcázar received the award for best actor. In addition, Norman Christianson was honored there for his camera work, as was the Viña del Mar Film Festival the following year. Isela Vega won the 2001 ACE Award for Best Supporting Actress.

literature

  • Carl J. Mora: Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society, 1896-2004 . McFarland & Co Inc, Jefferson NC 2005, ISBN 978-0-7864-2083-4 .
  • David E. Wilt: "The Mexican Filmography 1916 through 2001" . McFarland & Co Inc, Jefferson NC 2004. ISBN 978-0-7864-6122-6 .
  • Andrea Noble: Mexican National Cinema. Taylor & Francis, 2005, ISBN 978-0-415-23010-0 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Andrea Noble: Mexican National Cinema. Taylor & Francis, 2005. pp. 22.
  2. ^ A b c Carl J. Mora: Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society, 1896-2004. McFarland & Co Inc, Jefferson NC 2005. page 237.
  3. ^ A b Carl J. Mora: Mexican Cinema: Reflections of a Society, 1896-2004. McFarland & Co Inc, Jefferson NC 2005. page 238.
  4. ↑ a b Review by Carla Meyer for the San Francisco Chronical, accessed June 4, 2011 at sfgate.com
  5. ↑ La ley de Herodes on metacritic, accessed June 4, 2011.
  6. ↑ Wesley Morris, “Herod's Law an arresting, vibrant political satire,” in: The Boston Globe, September 12, 2003, accessed July 4, 2011 at boston.com