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Emilio Fernández (1904-1986)



Filmography

La isla de la pasión / The Island of the Passion (1942)
Soy puro mexicano / I’m a Real Mexican (1942)
Flor Silvestre / Wild Flower (1943)
María Candelaria / Portrait of Maria (1944)
Las Abandonadas / The Abandoned (1945)
Bugambilia (1945)
Pepita Jiménez (1946)
Enamorada / In Love (1946)
La perla / The Pearl (1947)
The Fugitive (1947, uncredited)
Río Escondido / Hidden River (1948)
Maclovia (1948)
The Pearl (1948, English language version)
Salón México (1949)
Pueblerina / Small Town Girl (1949)
La Malquerida / A Woman Without Love (1949)
Duelo en las montañas / Duel in the Mountains (1950)
The Torch (1950)
Un día de vida / One Day of Life (1950)
Vìctimas del Pecado / Victims of Sin (1951)
Los islas Marias (1951)
La bienamada / The Beloved (1951)
Siempre tuya / Always Yours (1952)
Acapulco (1952)
El mar y tú / The Sea and You (1952)
Cuando levanta la niebla / When the Fog Lifts (1952)
Rossana (aka La Red) / The Red (1953)
Reportaje / Report News (1953)
El Rapto / The Rapture (1954)
La rosa blanca / The White Rose (1954)
La rebelión de los colgados / Rebellion of the Hanged (1954, uncredited)
Nosotros dos / We Two (1955)
La Tierra del Fuego se apaga (1955)
El puño del amo (aka Una Cita de Amor) (1958)
El Impostor / The Impostor (1960)
Pueblito / Little Town (1962)
Paloma herída / Wounded Dove (1963)
Un Dorado de Pancho Villa / A Faithful Soldier of Pancho Villa (1967)
Un Crepúsculo de un dios / A Twilight of a God (1969)
La choca (1974)
Zona Roja / Red Zone (1976)
México Norte / Mexico North (1979)
Erótica / Erotic (1979)

Books

El Indio: The true story of Emilio Fernández by M.I. Quandour (2018)
Emilio Fernández: Pictures in the Margins by Dolores Tierney (2012)
Emilio “Indio” Fernández by Javier Cuesta and Helena R. Olmo (2004, Spanish)
Emilio Fernández by Emilio García Riera (1988, Spanish)
Homenaje a Emilio Fernández by Carlos Fernandez Cuenca (1961, Spanish)

Any recommendations from those who know his work? Pretty sure the only one I have seen is The Pearl in the English language version when I was in high school. Don't remember much about it. My library network has Enamorada and Rio Escondido so I'll be checking those out. Seems like his films are not programmed or discussed much.

I must admit my first thought when I saw this nice picture of Emilio was "When are we going to get a 4K of The Wild Bunch?"

Sadly, there is so much of his work that is not available with English subtitles and I'm hoping that a renewed interest in Mexico's Golden Age of Cinema may help change that. Of the few that I've seen, Maria Candelaria and Enamorada are must-sees, not the least for the stellar camerawork of renowned cinematographer, Gabriel Figueroa, with whom Fernández made 24 films (including The Pearl). I would also highly recommend Salón México and Victims of Sin, the latter starring the indomitable Cuban superstar, Ninón Sevilla. Sevilla was a force in many films in Mexico's Golden Age, especially as a star of "Caberetera" films, being featured in some films by Alberto Gout (a lesser director to Fernández) like Sensualidad and the classic cabereta/soap opera, Aventurera (her scenes with antagonist, Andrea Palma, are the source of much enjoyment). Still, Sevilla's best film was Fernández's Victim of Sin, There is still much that I want to see. Hope this helps.

Thanks for the recs. The lack of English subtitles is true for the library copies I'll be watching. Will try to enjoy these using my rudimentary Spanish. Both Enamorada and Rio Escondido were shot by Figueroa, so I look forward to enjoying them on a purely visual level at least.

The life of Emilio Fernàndez sounds movie-worthy. Boxer, cliff diver, aviator, revolutionary, prisoner, exile, stonemason, double for Douglas Fairbanks...

I managed to see Rio Escondido on YouTube (in spite of the subpar print and terrible English subs). Although the plot was bookended by some rather heavy political proselytism, the main story was quite good (tho the melodrama was a bit thick) and Fernández's direction and (especially) Figueroa's camerawork were outstanding. I really need to see The Pearl, which is fairly accessible, but number one on my list is Pueblerina, starring Columba Domínguez, which many say is Fernández's best film. There's a decent looking print on YouTube, but without subtitles. My Spanish is sorely lacking but I may decide to give it a go anyway.

Apparently Janus has added Victims of Sin to its catalog. Don't know what this means for a possible future Criterion release, but here's hoping.

So I was given a copy of a film with Fernandez star role called Los Hermanos Muerte and after doing a bit of digging on YouTube I found a version with translatable subs and it certainly feels like an unfairly forgotten piece of Mexican cinema. The basic plot goes

Spoiler

that a revolutionary and a daughter of a sheriff vow revenge on each after both of them kill a person the other deeply loves (for him, his brother and for her, her father) but inadvertently fall in love without knowing that other person is the one they're trying to kill.

And while there's certainly some parts of the story that needed to be developed (particularly the bond between the brothers which felt undercooked), the film carries this bitter sense of doom and fatalism that you so desperately don't want to happen because of the bond the couple share. In part because of acting which is wonderful especially by Fernandez, who manages to convey sadness and stoicness through this tough guy persona. Also of note is the wonderful cinematography by Raul Martinez Solares and direction by Rafael Baledon which utilizes a lot of clever staging & shadows to add a very wonderful style to the whole film which I felt helped add more to this already pretty interesting film. In short this is certainly not the best of films but it has a lot going for it and if Fernandez is as good of a director as he is an actor than I'm excited to delve into his work.

Thank you for the introduction. I really needed to see The Pearl, which was very simple to watch despite my lousy Spanish, but I decided to give it a shot anyhowgeometry dash.