Que Viva Mexico (1979)
"¡Que Viva Mexico! - Da zdravstvuyet Meksika!" (original title)

Eisenstein shows us Mexico in this movie, its history and its culture. He believes, that Mexico can become a modern state.

Director:

Sergei M. Eisenstein

Writers:

Grigori Aleksandrov (additional material), Sergei M. Eisenstein (original screenplay)

Stars:

Sergey Bondarchuk, Grigori Aleksandrov

1 win.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Sergey Bondarchuk	...	Narrator (voice)
Grigori Aleksandrov	...	Himself

Storyline

Eisenstein shows us Mexico in this movie, its history and its culture. He believes, that Mexico can become a modern state.

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Plot Keywords:

mexico | castigation | pilgrimage | revolution | part staged | 

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Genres:

Documentary | Drama | Western

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Details

Country:

Soviet Union

Language:

Russian

Release Date:

November 1979 (USA)

Also Known As:

¡Que viva Mexico!

Filming Locations:

Mexico City, Distrito Federal, Mexico

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mosfilm

Technical Specs

Runtime:

90 min 84 min (dvd release)

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Did You Know?

Goofs

The rifles Sebastian and his friends take from the gallery are of lever-action design, in the following gun-fight in the cactus fields they unmistakably use single-shot bolt-action rifles.

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Connections

Referenced in Urinal (1989)

User Reviews

A beautiful portrait of Mexico by a Russian genius

It's unbelievable how everything can be art when you look through the eyes of a genius. Sergei Eisenstein: the master of editing, the great father of Russian cinema, a role model for other famous directors like Charlie Chaplin or Andrei Tarkovski; author of cinematic masterpieces like Battleship Potemkin, Ivan the Terrible and Alexander Nevsky. Now we have his version of his Mexican adventure: "Que Viva Mexico!" an epic semi-documentary lost in time. Why was it lost in time for decades? Because no one in Russia or in the USA trusted this film enough to show it. Eisenstein was a nobody when he arrived in the USA to plan another project, the soviet authorities didn't want him in the USSR due to his polemic point of views of the October Revolution and the czarism. Sergei adored Mexico because of its beauty and its hospitality. Famous Mexican painters like Diego Rivera, Frida Kahlo and David Alfaro Siqueiros, along with his Russian partner Trotsky, helped him to inspire. Eisenstein filmed his version of the Mexican traditions and he was very close. As a Mexican, I didn't realized how magical these traditions were until I watched this film. A really good film maker knows how to show the real life in a fantastic way. Now, do I have to say the name of this really good film maker? I don't think so, I think you already know. "Que Viva Mexico!" highly recommendable, Mexican fellows: watch it, this is your real country.