Happy Cinco de Mayo. To help celebrate the day created to help commemorate the Mexican Army’s unlikely victory over the French in 1862, we’re taking a look at some of Mexico’s top movie makers. Here are our favourites.
Diego Luna: Luna has had quite a career in both Mexico and the U.S. The Star Wars: Rogue One star has appeared alongside Sean Penn (Milk), Tom Hanks (The Terminal) and Matt Damon (Elysium), and stars in not one, but two remakes in the next year. We suspect both Scarface and Flatliners will both be hits, and help Luna’s star continue to rise.
Alfonso Cuarón: While you might not recognize Cuarón by sight, you have more than likely seen one of his highly acclaimed films. He directed one of the Harry Potter films, and made history for becoming the first Mexican to win a directing Oscar for his work on Gravity. He’s also directed Great Expectations and Children to men, both critically acclaimed films.
Salma Hayek: What can be said about Hayek that hasn’t been said before? This Oscar nominated actress has been turning heads ever since she first started appearing on the screen in 1988. She’s starred in several films by director Robert Rodriguez, and is well known for playing strong willed, feisty characters, despite her 5’2 stature. She’s currently on screen as one of the stars of How To Be A Latin Lover.
Alejandro González Iñárritu: Cuarón may have been the first Mexican to win an Oscar for directing, but then Iñárritu went and won the next two. While 21 Grams and Babel got a lot of attention from critics, it was The Revenant and Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) that won him Oscars. With a great reputation among actors and critics alike, Iñárritu may very well have more awards coming his way in the future.
Guillermo del Toro: Mexico has really given us a lot of great directors over the last few years, and del Toro is one of them. While Hellboy, Balde II, Pan’s Labyrinth and Pacific Rim may get all the attention, you really should go back and check out del Toro’s earlier work The Devil’s Backbone. It’s a fantastic ghost story that will give you shivers at night.
Photo: Georges Biard on Wikipedia