María Candelaria (Xochimilco)

At first, it seems like this is going to be another standard melodrama, but within 10 minutes, you know that you're seeing really great actors at work in a very important film. Pedro Armendariz and Dolores del Rio are larger than life, absolutely perfect characters who love each other so sweetly and purely it makes everything else you've ever seen seem small in comparison. The photography is breathtaking, and the Mexico they live in - the floating gardens of Xochimilco at the turn of the century- is the stuff myths are made of. Of course there is conflict and drama and tragedy running all through the film, but the characters are so noble you can't feel sorry for them, no matter how badly they're treated. No one ever said this is supposed to be a realistic movie, but it certainly delivers an emotional jolt. It makes you not only fall in love with Maria Candelaria and Lorenzo Rafael, but with Mexico. It's like watching a beautiful dream unfold. No wonder so many Mexicans still mention this as their absolutely all time favorite film. Put it at the top of the list of films to see if you want to know more about Mexico's golden age of cinema.

For the younger generations to see movies like this one, may seem that they are not real. They may imagine that the story being told was created by some sick mind. How can it be possible that human beings were so miserable? This story happens in what's now a suburb of Mexico City, but which at that time(early 1940's)was a little village by itself. The destiny of the poor people, specially if they were indians, was to live a life of misery. The few rich owners of the majority of the land and the resources in the area dictated what had to be done. If you were an Indian the situation was even worse. They decided, for their own benefit, the rules that had to be obeyed. If, like in this movie, one of those indians was a beautiful woman that was even worse for her, because she could be taken by the ruling class as a simple sex toy. If she would not accept this, she and anyone close to her would suffer all type of hardships. It is a beautifully told story that could have been a true one.

To put it simply, it's brilliant: the direction by Emilio Fernández, the black and white photo by Gabriel Figueroa, the music by Francisco Dominguez and not least the acting by the legendary stars Dolores del Rio and Pedro Armendáriz. I think this film is the top peak in the career of Emilio Fernández, even if he made many other movie classics like Enamorada, Flor Silvestre or La Perla. Maria Candelaria (Xochimilco) is perhaps a Cinema Classic most people have been searching for but never found. And there are English subtitles. I am wondering why this movie never comes to discussion when film people make lists about the Best Movie of the Century. Think it's a kind of mystery.

Emilio Fernandez, the director of "Maria Candelaria" clearly demonstrates he was a genius. El "Indio" Fernandez elevated the Mexican cinema into an art form thanks to this great 1944 movie that won the best prize at Cannes. "Maria Candelaria" is a collaboration between Mr. Fernandez and Mauricio Magdaleno. The film is beautifully photographed by Gabriel Figueroa, perhaps Mexico's best camera man of all times. The result is a deeply engrossing drama that remains as fresh today, as when it was originally released.

Dolores del Rio was a Hollywood star who refused to play stereotypes in any of the films in which she appeared in Hollywood. She was a woman of sophistication and good taste, but at almost 40, the actress realized it was time to reinvent herself, packed her Louis Vuitton trunks and left for her native land. There, she became the absolute queen of anything of quality filmed in Mexico. In a way, it is ironic her best film in Mexico she plays an Indian woman, something she wouldn't have agreed to do for the American cinema. She worked extensively on the screen and in the theater until her death in 1983.

In this film she was paired with one of the best actors of Mexico, Pedro Armendariz. The chemistry between them is what holds the drama together. Lorenzo Rafael loves Maria Candelaria, a local girl that is a woman generally hated by the people of Xochimilco.

We are given a prologue when the film opens as the painter reveals the canvas that has provoked the furor among the modest people of the area. We are taken in flashbacks to know the story, set in the floating gardens of Xochimilco, that were pristine when the filming took place. We watch as the flower sellers perform a sort of aquatic ballet as they go doing their every day business. One gets to know the story of Maria Candelaria, and her tragic story.

Dolores del Rio, even though she is supposed to play an Indian girl, looks as though she was a great lady in peasant clothes. Ms. del Rio's face had the angles the camera loved. She had one of the best opportunities of her distinguished career in the film. Pedro Armendariz is excellent as Lorenzo Rafael. Mr. Armendariz has great opportunities to show his extensive range playing opposite Ms. del Rio.

This is an Emilio Fernandez and Gabriel Figueroa masterpiece!

Talk about the sins of the father... well this time it's the sins of the mother that have earned the eponymous girl (Dolores del Rio) the enmity of her devout and rather hypocritical neighbours. Her troubles have only been exacerbated by her relationship with the dashing "Lorenzo Rafael" (Pedro Armendáriz) which is causing some jealousy too - especially from the vocal and quite obnoxious "Lupe" (Margarita Cortés). As a result of her shunning, "Maria" finds that she owes local grandee "Don Damian" (Miguel Inclán) the enormous sum of 15 pesos (almost a third has been spent on soap!!) and unless she settles then he is going to take her newborn sow as payment. They are now in a catch 22. The villagers will not let them sell their flowers or vegetables, so how to raise the cash? They travel to a distant market in the hope of doing just that, but when she is approached by a wealthy painter (Alberto Galán) they both take flight - and are no better off! Their waterside home is also the home to some mosquitoes and when she falls ill, decisions with far reaching effects have to be made by "Lorenzo" that rather plays into the hands of her enemies and leaves them both vulnerable to the worst of scenarios with only the local priest (Rafael Icardo) and the painter in their corner. Now the elephant in the room is that del Rio was forty years old here, and so convincing us that she is the innocent young girl does require a bit of cinematic licence. That said, she does offer us a delicately constructed characterisation of a young woman, very much in love, who just wants to be content. The photography and the peaceful settings of their adobe hut work well as a contrast to the unpleasantness they both face from a community that, despite it's religiosity, is bitter and unforgiving. The score also contributes well as we head towards our biblical denouement. Director Emilio Fernández has crafted a gentle story here that takes quite a swipe at small town mentality and double-standards, and jealousy and at hopelessness, but it's never a depressing film - there is honour here amongst some of the characters. It does take just a little too long to get going, but once we get going it's worth a watch.