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El compadre Mendoza

Director: Fernardo de Fuentes
Year: 1934
Run-time: 1 hr 25 min

- This is the first Mexican film on this list.  I watched an interview with Guillermo del Toro in which he remarked that until a landmark film in late 20th century (whose name I have unfortunately forgotten), Mexican films were mostly "folkloric" in nature.  I don't think that's fair to the quality of a film like El Compadre Mendoza, but it is accurate in the sense that the film is proud to display Mexican song and culture, and I can't fault it for that.  There's a lot of wonderful song, as well as distinctive costumes that come with the Revolutionary setting.  The story builds to something really interesting by the end, even though it's not unpredictable and the acting leaves something desired.  Ultimately, it's an important reminder that the "golden age" of film is not contained to the three pillars of Japan, France, and the US.  These early efforts outside these countries are especially hard to find, and this one required a purchase and a long pandemic-era wait, but it was worth it.
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