New Mexican Cinema

After the end of the Golden Age in the 1950s, Mexican cinema was in decline for a long time. Having assumed the presidency of Mexico in 1982, Miguel de la Madrid inherited a country deeply immersed in the economic and social crisis. The Mexican government has almost completely forgotten about cinema, an industry that few people care about in times of crisis. Films continued to be shot, but only by the efforts of private companies. Between 1982 and 1988, almost no Mexican film was successful outside the country. Film rental was also one of Mexico's problems: on the one hand, the law requiring cinemas to show 50% of Mexican-made films was never fully implemented in practice, on the other hand, even if it were implemented, low quality films and little interest from the viewer all the same, they would not have contributed to the development of cinema.

In 1983, the Mexican Institute of Cinematography was created, a public institution whose task was to monitor the creation of high-quality cinema. By the early 1990s, his activities began to bear fruit. Films such as Homework (1991) by Jaime Umberto Hermosillo, Danson (1991) by Maria Novaro, Love during Hysteria (1991) Alfonso Cuarona , Chronos (1992) Guillermo del Toro , “ Like Water for chocolate ”(1992) Alfonso Aarau, “ Miroslava ”(1993) Alejandro Pelayo and others. All of them met the criteria of high quality, very different from what the Mexicans had to see on the screen just a few years ago. Cinema gradually regained the role of one of the most important types of culture for the country. Between 1990 and 1992, the number of visits to cinemas increased significantly, and the income from films exceeded the expectations of distributors. At the same time, Salma Hayek , the national symbol and the rising star of Hollywood , begins to act in films, a little later Gael Garcia Bernal , one of the most recognizable actors of Mexican origin, will join her.

The highest achievements of the “new wave” are associated with the names of three directors: Alejandro González Iñárritu , Alfonso Cuarona , Guillermo del Toro ^[1] .

Alfonso Cuaron . He was the first among Latin American directors to receive an Oscar for best directing in 2014. It is considered one of the most promising directors of its generation, not only Mexican, but also world cinema. Cuaron began filming an independent movie in his homeland (Love on the Edge of Hysteria, 1991), but he became famous for his work on the American film Little Princess (1995) and his fourth film, And Your Mom, too (2001). This was followed by big-budget Hollywood paintings by Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban (2004), “ Child of Man ” and Gravity (2013). These films received good reviews from both critics and viewers, and were successful at the box office.

Alejandro González Iñárritu . Director, screenwriter, producer and composer, winner of 4 Oscars. It is considered one of the best directors in the world today. One of the first world-famous Mexican films of the 21st century is Inarritu's work “ Bitch Love” (2000), which was nominated for an Oscar and Golden Globe as the best foreign language film, and in Mexico received 11 Ariel awards . Then the films “ 21 grams” and “ Babylon” are released , the latter was nominated for an Oscar in 7 nominations, including as the best film and for the best directing. These three films made up the trilogy about death, which Inarritu created together with the screenwriter Guillermo Arriaga , and opened the way for the director to the world of big Hollywood cinema. The most famous Hollywood works of the director are the films “ Birdman” (2014) and “ Survivor” (2015), which in total collected 600 million dollars at the box office.

Iñárritu is the first Mexican director to receive an Oscar for best directing for two years in a row, and the third who has ever received such recognition ever, and the last time up to Inarritu, Joseph Leo Mankevich received two Oscars for directing in 1949 and 1950, then there are more than 60 years ago. Also - the first Mexican director to receive an Oscar for best film (Birdman). In addition, he received a prize for best directing at the Cannes Film Festival for the film Babylon (2006).

Guillermo del Toro is also a sought-after director in Hollywood. Del Toro was involved in both the adaptation of comic books ( Hellboy , 2004 and Blade 2 , 2002) and the creation of horror and fantasy films ( Devil's Ridge 2001 and Labyrinth of the Faun , 2006). Del Toro films are distinguished by a gloomy, often Gothic, atmosphere ( Crimson Peak , 2015), as well as an abundance of monsters and other fantastic creatures.

• Homework (La tarea, 1991) - Jaime Umberto Hermosillo
• “Danson” (Danzón, 1991) - Maria Novaro
• “Love in Hysteria” (Sólo con tu pareja, 1991) - Alfonso Cuaron
• " Chronos " (Cronos, 1992) - Guillermo del Toro
• “ Like Water for Chocolate ” (Como agua para chocolate, 1992) - Alfonso Aarau
• “Miroslava” (Miroslava, 1993) - Alejandro Pelayo
• The Law of Herod (La Ley de Herodes, 1999) - Luis Estrada
• “ Other Conquests” (La Otra Conquista, 1999) - Salvador Carrasco
• “ Sex, Shame, and Tears” (Sexo, pudor y lágrimas, 2000) - Antonio Serrano
• “ All Power” (Todo el poder, 2000) - Fernando Sarignana
• " Street" (De la Calle, 2001) - Gerardo Cake
• “ Bitch Love” (Amores perros, 2000) - Alejandro González Iñárritu
• “ And Your Mom, too” (Y tu mamá también, 2001) - Alfonso Cuaron
• “ The Secret of Father Amaro” (El Crimen del Padre Amaro, 2002) - Carlos Carrera
• “ Japan” (Japón, 2002) - Carlos Reigadas
• “ Your Love Hurts” (Amar te Duele, 2002) - Fernando Sarignana
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  Gael Garcia Bernal - one of the most recognizable Mexican actors
  “ Thousands of peaceful clouds surround the sky, love, you cannot stop love” (Mil nubes de paz cercan el cielo, amor, jamás acabrás de ser amor, 2003) - Julian Hernandez
• Innocent Voices (Voces Inocentes, 2004) - Luis Mandoki
• The Duck Season (Temporada de Patos, 2004) - Fernando Eimbke
• Cutting Off The Ends (Matando Cabos, 2004) - Alejandro Lozano
• “ Battle in Heaven ” (Batalla en el cielo, 2005) - Carlos Reigadas
• “ Blood ” (Sangre, 2005) - Amat Escalante
• The Violin (El Violín, 2005) - Francisco Vargas Quevedo
• “ On the Other Side” (Al Otro Lado, 2005) - Gustavo Losa
• Bad Habits (Malos Habitos, 2006) - Simon Bross
• The 31st km (Km. 31, 2006) - Rigoberto Castañeda
• Broken Skies (El cielo dividido, 2006) - Julian Hernandez
• “ Tired of kissing frogs” (Cansada de Besar Sapos, 2006) - Jorge Colon
• Blue Eyelids (Párpados Azules, 2007) - Ernesto Contreras
• Silent Light (Stellet Licht, 2007) - Carlos Reygadas
• “ Revive the life in me” (Arráncame la vida, 2008) - Roberto Snyder
• “ Rudo and Curci” (Rudo y Cursi, 2008) - Carlos Cuaron
• " Lake Tahoe" (Lake Tahoe, 2009) - Fernando Eimbke
• Anonymous (Sin nombre, 2009) - Carey Fukunaga
• Hell (El Infierno, 2010) - Luis Estrada
• The Presumption of Guilt (Presunto Culpable, 2011) - Roberto Hernandez, Jeffrey Smith
• “ After Lucia” (Después de Lucía, 2012) - Michelle Franco
• The Amazing Catfish (Los insólitos peces gato, 2013) - Claudia Saint Luche

• El nuevo cine mexicano - Ven a verlo.com
• Mexican cinema today - FOCUS Features