Cantinflas: A Magia da Comédia

Unless you are familiar with the Mexican phenomenon known as Cantinflas, before you watch this new bio-pic, you might just want to see a few of these films first so that you can appreciate their wonderful style and charm. They also might help you to understand why Charlie Chaplin raved about the man who created this character and referred to him as 'the world's greatest comedian' as well as why they've chosen to make a film about his life.

Unfortunately, "Cantinflas" is NOT the perfect film about Mario Moreno's life and career in films. It seems to spend too much energy focusing on his performance in the Hollywood film "Around the World in 80 Days" and not nearly enough on his Mexican movies--which are clearly his best. While his role in "Around the World" did help to bring him to the attention of the American public, his career in Hollywood films would later turn out to be a flop--something that the film not only fails to mention but it strongly implies that his efforts in American cinema were very successful. Likewise, the film tends to whitewash Moreno's personal life at times and fails to show just how beloved the man was in his native land. Despite these flaws, the movie is still well worth seeing. Óscar Jaenada does a lovely job impersonating the late actor and the film is technically a very well made film. It also does a good job in showing the path by which Moreno learned his craft and perfected his Cantinflas character--all things that fans of these films should appreciate and enjoy. It also leaves you wanting to see more--something I'd strongly recommend. You might want to try a few of his later films, such as "The Little Priest", "El Bolero de Raquel", "The Illiterate One" or "Su Exelencia", as they are excellent and, more importantly, are widely available on DVD since they were released by Columbia Pictures, unlike his earlier films.

Incidentally, "Cantinflas" is the official submission for Mexico for the Best Foreign Language Oscar. We'll soon see if it's among the few selected nominees for this award.

I attended this movie without knowing anything about Cantinflas. I am pleased to report that this movie is informing and entertaining. The time zone depicted is about 1935-1956 in Mexico.

The production quality is first rate. However, understand that the lighting and camera angles approximate what was being used in the 1940s and 50s. Therefore, this film has a simple look, an historical feel about it. I particularly enjoyed the costumes and fashions of the actresses during the 40s and 50s.

I strongly suggest that you read "Wiki" descriptions of his career before you see the movie. This will cause you to understand the importance of this man to Mexico and to the U.S. In fact, when he died, Mexico had 3 days of mourning; and the U.S. Senate had a moment of silence to honor this actor.

Cantinflas was a Mexican comedian at approximately the level of a Charlie Chaplin or Bob Hope. He started from humble street origins in Mexico and slowly worked his way to Hollywood. He eventually starred in "80 Days Around the World" which featured top stars and won several Oscars.

His name is an invention that may roughly translate in Spanish to, "He who drinks too much in the Cantina".

This film has both English and Spanish subtitles which alternate at appropriate times.

Cantiflas's act might be called "family entertainment" worthy of reaching wide audiences. There is no outrageous violence, no sex, no drug usage, no monsters, no superheros, no flaming car crashes. The story is a predictable rags to riches story which makes for quality and gentle Sunday afternoon entertainment. Religious people should not be offended. This story reinforces the belief that hard focused work may be rewarded with fame and happiness.

This film is more about the events and people which brought Mario Moreno (Cantinflas) to success on stage and film. His performances are not detailed, not lengthy, only suggestions of his talent. If his performances were recreated, I think this movie would gain a higher rating. You will see Marlon Brando, Elizabeth Taylor, Yule Brenner, Charlie Chaplin and others played out in this film as well.

When you read the "Wiki" description, you will understand that he created a kind of humor which allowed him to use a free form style, he was an ad lib artist. Perhaps he could be compared to the late Robin Williams. From what I heard during the show he had a light touch to his truth telling on stage.

Cantinflas is always a respectable story; and you should not be embarrassed to bring any friend to see this film with you. I am not of Mexican heritage. About 95% of those in the audience seemed to be Mexican. So, you now know that you could be broadening your education of film history to see this film. And again, I think that if you grew up seeing his films, you will enjoy this movie more and give it a higher rating here on IMDb. If not, then for you we have a predictable, simple story which may earn a 6.5 or 7.0 on IMDb.

I particularly enjoyed seeing Mexico, the buildings, the fashions, the restaurants at their very polished best. The music is romantic. I felt that if I had seen his film when I was young, this film would have provided me with the "nostalgia effect". Nonetheless, it was a nice visit to Mexico during the 1940s.

The direction of the film was conservative and never confused. There were no "tricks" of the director to distract me from the simple, linear story.

And there is the greatest value of this film: nostalgia. Older folks who witnessed his acts will gain the most benefit from this reenactment of his past. Those older people will no doubt relive their youth as they enjoy seeing Mario Moreno go through his trials to finally appear in theater and film to become a national hero.

There are very few dark moments. And no foul language that I could detect.

Cantinflas was a master comedian. However, I do not think this movie could truly reproduce the comedic timing that Cantinflas used. Therefore, Cantinflas's wit is not displayed in this movie in a manner that I could laugh at most of the time. Subtitles slow down the delivery of his jokes. The effect of surprise in his jokes is muted by the English translation and the use of subtitles. So, as a film goer I am at a disadvantage. His jokes were gentle surprise one liners that entertained families on stage in the Cantinas of Mexico and film. But I am hardly an expert on his career. All I have seen is this movie.

I think that if you wanted to treat a person to a gentle story, with only a few moments of aggressive drama, you would be safe to bring any friend to see this film. This is a "nice film." And if that friend were born around 1940, all the better. And now I want to know more about Mario Moreno's career. And I would like to experience the results of his comedic timing from the master. Charlie Chaplin is said to have considered him the most humorous man in theater. That is quite a compliment.

Mario Moreno upset the Union of Actors in Mexico. He shunned the studio system of Hollywood, too. Yet he rose from the very bottom of Mexican society to become an Oscar winning actor.

This film is safe, gentle entertainment. I feel I broadened my understanding of film history after seeing this movie. I recommend you see it too. I am sure you will leave the theater with a warm, gentle feeling.

Cantinflas (2014) should have been a clever little gem about a piece of forgotten film history but ends up being a solidly boring mish-mesh of a film that did little justice to its subject matter. In it Cantinflas aka Mario Moreno (Oscar Jaenada) works his way up from a minor vaudeville player on the streets of Mexico City to one of the most beloved Mexican actor/comedians of all time.

He does so while a second, mostly English tale unfolds. Michael Todd (Michael Imperioli) a wily producer at United Artists is trying to cobble together the 1956 theatrical version of Around the World in 80 Days. He boasts to the studio exec that he can convince over forty international film stars to be in the film but in reality he barely has Elizabeth Taylor on the hook. In an attempt to make the film salvageable he asks the ever-popular Cantinflas to make a cameo appearance.

Despite polished period detail and some worthwhile performances, Cantinflas feels cheap and more than a bit off. The cinematography colludes into a mix of flat browns and grays and everyone seems to be spotted by florescent lights. One cannot help but wonder if this story was given to a more mature director we'd be able to see and enjoy the vibrant colors of Mexico and the luster of old Hollywood.

The film is also betrayed by a script that fails to staple the important moments or rather the two largest threads into a story of urgency. The turbulent labor politics of Moreno's time get the same compromised treatment as his early roving theatre career. His height of popularity is as deflated as the 80 Days subplot. It's as if the editors lost a few key scenes on the cutting room floor and pasted half-shot scenes together hoping the audience wouldn't notice.

There's one nearly-poignant scene where Cantinflas, in a "success is ruination"-type stupor sees a note of encouragement by none other than Charlie Chaplin. Again I say near-poignant because up until that moment we never knew Chaplin's opinion was important to Cantinflas. Goaded by the letter, once Cantinflas agrees to do Around the World in 80 Days it leaves him without catharsis or character change. His wife seemed to think fame was going to his head so appearing in the film he's most internationally recognized for wouldn't have solved that dispute; yet it did.

Cantinflas attempts to create a stereotypical biographical film out of a figure that, given the events of the film, deserved better. At best this film deserves to be on cable and given a Hallmark type release, not a theatrical one. Maybe in the decades to come people will honor his contribution to his nation's cinema with a movie that immortalizes the man properly. Now that would be the rub.

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This is a Mexican/Spanish co-production dealing with the untold story of Mexico's greatest and most beloved comedy film star of all time, Cantinflas (Oscar Jaenada) , from his poor origins on the small stage and his acting in Mexican cinema to the bright lights of Hollywood , being hired by a powerful US producer , Mike Todd (Michael Imperioli) .In his youth, he earned money as a prizefighter and worked as an acrobat in circus tent shows. As he acted in cabarets , theatres and varietee shows . He was married to Valentina Ivanova (Ilse Salas) from 1936 until her death. He appeared in more than 55 films, including as Passepartoute in his biggest hit : Around the world in 80 days (1956) . At the peak of his career in the late 1950s, Cantinflas was earning more than $1.5 million a year and was referred to in press releases as the world's highest-paid comedian. He once described as "the world's greatest comedian" by none other than Charles Chaplin (Sedgwick) .Despite the fact that Cantinflas died a millionaire several times over, and was one of the biggest stars ever in Spanish language films, he never forgot where he came from. Much of his money was given over to charitable work, including high-quality, low-income housing for Mexico City's poor. When he died, he was hailed as a national hero, and a protracted period of official mourning followed.

The picture describes various episodes about Cantinflas life from Mexico to around the world , many of them shown in flashbacks , his hard beginings , his relationship to his understanding wife Valentina Ivanova ( Ilse Salas) , the stubborn Mike Todd (who married Liz Taylor played Barbara Mori) to hire him , the Actors Unions strike led by Cantinflas himself with appearance of notorious Mexican actors as Dolores Del Rio (Jessica Gocha) , María Félix (Ximena Gonzalez-Rubio) , Jorge Negrete (Julio Bracho) , Miroslava , Gloria Marin (Giovanna Zacarias) , Ernesto Alonso , Lupita Tovar (Flor Payán) , Pedro Armendariz , Emilio Indio Fernández (Joaquin Cosio) , cameraman Gabriel Figueroa (Carlos Aragón) , among others . In addition , here shows up some prestigious Hollywood actors in brief appearances , such as : Kirk Douglas (Juan Castelazo) , Charlie Chaplin (Julian Sedgwick) , Marlene Dietrich (Karin Burnett) , Marlon Brando ,Yul Brynner , and Liz Taylor . Furthermore , showing the shooting in the Churubusco studios of some Cantinflas films as ¨Ahí esta el detalle¨, ¨Ni sangre ni arena¨, ¨El gendarme desconocido¨, ¨Un dia con el diablo¨ and , of course , ¨Around the world in 80 days¨ . Stars Oscar Jaenada who looks exactly him , he gives an acceptable acting as the famous showman . However , this film was not well received in México, due to the decission of giving the role to a spanish actor. The general sense is that even when the acting was good, Jaenada was not capable to be funny, because he couldn't understand the mexican sense of humor. There's no real consensus on how Mario Moreno Reyes adopted his more familiar professional name. One story goes that he did not want to shame his family, who thought of show business as a less than respectable profession, and so created his name. Another is that, at one of his first nightclub engagements, a heckler taunted him with, "¡En la cantina inflas!" ("You get drunk in the bar room!"). Other stories say the name came from phrases like "¡Cuanto inflas!", (you really get drunk!) "¿Cantas o le inflas?" (you sing or get drunk?), or "ya calláte cantinflas" (shut up, cheap singer) For some reason, this amused him, and he shortened the taunt into the professional name of Cantinflas. In 1936 Cantinflas made his first "film," a two-reel advertisement for a trucking company. A year later, he appeared in his first movie for the nascent Mexican film industry, "Asi Es Mi Tierra" ("That's My Country"). He scored his first international success in 1940 with what also was his first full-length feature, "Ahi Esta el Detalle" ("There Is the Detail"). In his second major film, "Ni Sangre, Ni Arena" ("Neither Blood Nor Sand"), Cantinflas plays dual roles - an arrogant matador and a humble, devoted fan. The comedy begins when, through a classic mix-up of identities, the lowly fan is mistaken for the vain bull fighter. Cantinflas was to perfect the bull-fight into one of his most famous routines, performed again and again in arenas in Mexico, Europe and the United States.

The movie has enough budget , including big production design , fastuous scenarios , and luxurious sets . As well as a colorful and brilliant cinematography by Carlos Hidalgo . It contains an evocative and atmospheric musical score by Roque Baños . The motion picture was professionally directed by Sebastian del Amo who plays a cameo as Yul Brynner . It had a great world wide premiere in Mexico D.F. and it was Official submission of Mexico to the best foreign language film category of the 87th Academy Awards 2015. In Spain was released in 2016, 2 years later, in 36 theaters and thanks to Óscar Jaenada who personally secured it a Spanish released trough his connections, which ended up happening on April the 15th 2016.

Expectations were just to have a nice time at the movies...I grew up watching Cantinflas movies...so, will it be in Spanish, will it be in English? When casting was in progress, Controversy ensued when the actor playing the Mexican icon would be from Spain...not just Spain, but from Catalunya! Just having been to Barcelona and hearing first hand the marked difference between Castillian and Catalan...I didn't think the actor could even pull off sounding a bit from the Western Hemisphere. I stand happily corrected. What an amazing portrayal. Hat's off to the principal actor, all actors, director and everyone that had a hand in this tour de force, magical, moving movie. No spoilers here, but it tugged at my heart. The power of immense, unfathomable fame vs. the true, crystal clear power of love. The hysterical man/myth that some of us were lucky enough to grow up with has been presented to new generations as the man only a handful really knew. I couldn't be happier coming home from the movies.