Que Viva Mexico is the 1979 Russian film directed by Sergei Eisenstein. It was left unfinished during his life time. This film is the version released by the Mexican Film Trust and edited by Grigori Aleksandrov. It is a fictional history of Mexico through a Marxist perspective. The film starts with a depiction of marriage rites and bullfighting before it tells a story. It is about Sebastian and Maria, poor people who love each other. His boss kidnaps Maria and Sebastian mounts an unsuccessful rescue that costs him his life. The fourth story would have been about the Mexican revolution and ends with the Day of the Dead holiday.
This movie is interesting not because of its story but because of its troubled production. Aleksandrov does the best he can to make a story out of the footage he has, but some viewers will be disappointed that he’s not as inventive as Eisenstein. The story is entertaining, even if it’s there to make communism look good. It is a shame that it was left unfinished, as it would have been fun to watch the revolution and bullfighting stories. This movie is one of the few where the director stops the film and talks in order to movie the plot along. Honolulu film fans should at least rent it.
More at: Tricia’s Retro Film Reviews
Buy Que Viva Mexico at Amazon.com
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