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Such Is My Country

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Wikipedia article




'Such Is My Country' is a 1937 Mexican comedy film directed by Arcady Boytler and starring Antonio R. Frausto, Mercedes Soler, Juan Jos Martnez Casado, Manuel Medel, and Cantinflas. It was the first film to feature Cantinflas in a prominent role (his film debut 'Don't Fool Yourself Dear' only featuring him in a brief appearance) and the first of Cantinflas's films together with Medel as a team.

The film's art direction was by Jos Rodrguez Granada.

Plot



In 1916, in the middle of the Mexican Revolution, a General (Antonio R. Frausto) returns to his home village, where he is received with a great party. The general is interested in the young Isabelita (Mercedes Soler), without knowing that she already maintains a secret romance with Filomeno (Juan Jos Martnez Casado). Meanwhile, "El Tejn" (Cantinflas), a farmhand who idolizes the General, and Procopio (Manuel Medel), the General's right-hand man, are vying for the love of ranchwoman Cholita (Margarita Corts).

Cast



*Cantinflas as El Tejn

*Manuel Medel as Procopio

*Antonio R. Frausto as General

*Luis G. Barreiro as Licenciado

*Mercedes Soler as Isabelita

*Juan Jos Martnez Casado as Filomeno (as J.J. Martinez Casado)

*Margarita Corts as Cholita

*Amelia Wilhelmy as Adelita

*Josefina Segarra as Doa Tomasa

*ngel T. Sala as Compadre Gallo

*Miguel Wimer as Cayetano

*Luis Urea as Nicanor

*ngel Arzamendi as Don Chon

*Guillermo Calles as Gonzalo

*Antonio Garay as Gmez

*Ana Mara Castaeda as Restituta

*Carolina Barret as Carolina (uncredited)

*Leonor Gmez as Lupe (uncredited)

*Jos Elas Moreno as Party guest (uncredited)

*Alicia Reyna as Cook at party (uncredited)

*Jos Ignacio Rocha as Party guest (uncredited)

Analysis



The authors of 'Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History' argue that the film parodied the 'comedia ranchera' film genre, saying, "Given his decidedly un-macho persona, it seems appropriate and hardly coincidental that the first target of his humor was that the most manly of Mexican film genres, 'comedia ranchera'." Michael Werner in his 'Concise Encyclopedia of Mexico' complimented the "Eisensteinian aesthetics that Boytler incorporates" to the film. Conversely, in his books 'Escenas de pudor y liviandad' and 'Los dolos a nado: Una antologa global', Carlos Monsivis stated that Cantinflas's 'pelado' character was incompatible with the rural setting of the film, in contrast to the city setting of his later films, saying that "[his thing] is the new urban sensibility." In his book 'Ms all de las lgrimas', Isaac Len Fras collects Aurelio de los Reyes's criticism of the film's limited exterior filming, contrasting it with 'All en el Rancho Grande' saying, "It tries to capture the return home of the revolutionaries, but the return is a pretext for the action to take place 'inside walls' on film sets. Outdoors and natural settings take second place, the opposite of 'All en el Rancho Grande'. It takes refuge in the studios perhaps because another reality is more comfortably manufactured there."

References




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