As a next-door-neighbour to California you might have expected that Mexico would have had a lot of attention from Hollywood over the years.
Image via Wikimedia Commons, no copyright applies.
Surprisingly that’s not really the case, there may be a large number of Mexicans working in LA, but there haven’t been a huge number of Hollywood movies set in Mexico. However, that’s not to say that the GeekOverture team can’t come up with a fistfull of crackers.
A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
Set in the little Mexican border town of San Miguel A Fistful of Dollars was the original spaghetti western and the first movie in the Dollars Trilogy. Sergio Leone’s classic shot Clint Eastwood into the limelight and introduced the world to the legendary gunslinger known only as, ‘The Man With No Name’. The trilogy was rounded out by For a Few Dollars More and possibly the most famous western ever: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (which were both set in New Mexico).
The Mexico Trilogy (1992 to 2003)
In 1992 Robert Rodriguez released his stylish, gritty atmospheric classic El Mariachi to great critical acclaim. The Mexican produced movie cost only $7,000 to make, but its phenomenal success lead to two high profile sequels starring Antonio Banderas: Desperado (1995) and Once Upon A Time In Mexico (2003).
From Dusk Till Dawn (1996)
The success of El Mariachi and Desperado made Rodriguez hot property in Hollywood, so much so that for his next project he was able to attract some major A-list talent: George Clooney, Harvey Keitel, Quentin Tarantino and Juliette Lewis. The pulpy vampire cult classic was a blood splattered, gore filled smash hit and cemented Rodriguez’s reputation while carrying a bit of a warning to criminals: don’t run over the border to Mexico or vampires will eat you.
The Mexican (2001)
A highly entertaining rom-com crime romp with starring Julia Roberts and Brad Pitt. The movie was originally intended to be a low-budget independent production, but that was before a couple of Tinseltown heavyweights got involved. Luckily the movie managed to keep a nice quirky feel as Pitt gets constantly harassed by Roberts while he goes about his task of obtaining a cursed Mexican gun.
Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
If you’re looking for something a bit more authentic, the art-house classic Y Tu Mamá También may fit the bill. The low-budget coming-of-age road movie was a huge success and received significant critical acclaim including an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.
Nacho Libre (2006)
One of Jack Black’s better comedy performances. He plays an orphan cook in a Mexican monastery who dreams of becoming a high-flying Mexican wrestler. Strangely enough the true story on which the movie is (very) loosely based may be even more bizarre; Mexican priest Rev. Sergio Gutiérrez Benítez had a 23-year wrestling career and used the proceeds to help fund the orphanage he ran.
Apocalypto (2006)
One of the only films ever made which has had a good crack at trying to realistically portray Mayan civilisation. Of course there are plenty of academics happy to argue over the degree of historical accuracy, but that’s just what they do isn’t it? Mel Gibson’s big-budget epic is visually stunning, brutally violent and highly dramatic, it might not be to everyone’s taste, but it certainly isn’t boring.
Rango (2011)
Johnny Depp playing an animated lizard who dreams of being a fearless gunslinger. It sounds pretty off-the-wall, but this bizarre charming homage to the spaghetti western just seemed to work really well. It’s witty, quirky, entertaining, engaging and in many places pretty darned surreal.
If you fancy checking out some of the country’s most iconic movie locations book some flights, find yourself some cheap calls to Mexico and get planning those movie inspired excursions.
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January 30, 2012
Movies