Mid-century Mexican films are being feted at the Film at Lincoln Center as part of a new partnership with the Locarno Film Festival. Titled Spectacle Every Day: Mexican Popular Cinema, the program spans Mexican cinema from the ’40s through the ’60s, featuring works from directors such as Roberto Gavaldón, Emilio Fernández, Julio Bracho, Alejandro Galindo, and Chano Urueta. The 22-film retrospective takes place at FLC from July 26 through August 8.
Highlights include the 4K restoration of Julio Bracho’s “Take Me in Your Arms” (1954), Alejandro Galindo’s “Wetbacks” (1955), “The Sword of Granada” (1953) which was the first 3-D film produced in Mexico, and Matilde Landeta’s sex work melodrama “Streetwalker” (1951). Landeta was one of the country’s first female directors. The features screening as part of Spectacle Every Day: Mexican Popular Cinema have been rarely screened stateside.
Some even have never before seen theatrically in the United States, per the official press release. Spectacle Every Day: Mexican Popular Cinema is sponsored by MUBI, the global streaming service, production company and film distributor dedicated to elevating great cinema. The screening series is made possible by the generous support of Almudena and Pablo Legorreta; the program was organized by Tyler Wilson and Cecilia Barrionuevo in partnership with the Locarno Film Festival and with support from Cinema Tropical.
The films were selected from the retrospective curated b.