• Home
  • Faces
  • Movies
  • The Diaries
  • The Briefly
  • Minimalist Fashionista
  • Selfies Interviews
  • About
  • contact
Menu

E. Nina Rothe

Film. Fashion. Life.
  • Home
  • Faces
  • Movies
  • The Diaries
  • The Briefly
  • Minimalist Fashionista
  • Selfies Interviews
  • About
  • contact
×

Favorite movies only need apply. Life is too short to write about what I didn't enjoy. 

Bérénice Béjo and Matheo Labbé in a still from ‘Mexico 86’

Review of 'Mexico 86' by César Diaz: A film with its heart in the perfect place

E. Nina Rothe August 11, 2024

The fictionalized, yet personal story of the troubled relationship between the filmmaker and his own mother, ‘Mexico 86’ offers a viewpoint into the price women pay when trying to balance motherhood, and a revolution.

In the prologue to Mexico 86, Maria (played by the ever divine Bérénice Béjo) witnesses her husband’s murder from the window of her home in 1976 Guatemala, as she holds her newborn son in her arms.

To put this into context, the year comes in the midst of a military dictatorship, two years after the end of the short rule of Carlos Arana who was elected president in 1970 and lasted until 1974, and who placed the country under a state of siege, giving the military more control over civilians. By the mid-1970’s Kjell Eugenio Laugerud García had taken power, another military man whose appointment was always questioned, as was the legitimacy of the electoral process that put him there.This kind of dictatorship continued well into the next decade, as a series of military-dominated governments escalated violence against guerrilla groups and indigenous communities.

So in our story, Maria, a leftist militant herself, flees to Mexico, though her mother remains in Guatemala and promises to take care of her child Marco. Their other option would have seen Marco sent to a “beehive” in Cuba, a place where children of the Revolution would live together and be taken care of, never able to reconnect with their parents.

Fast forward ten years later. We find Maria living under cover in Mexico City, donning different wigs to work at a newspaper as a copywriter, communicate with her comrades, talk to her mom and son via public phones and generally carry on the good fight. When Maria’s mother (played brilliantly by the moving Mexican actress Julieta Egurrola) comes to visit, bringing with her the now 10 year old son Marco (lovely newcomer Matheo Labbé), things begin to shift in the story. But what never changes is Maria’s commitment to her country’s cause.

She is a remarkable woman with willpower and courage. Although, from her son’s POV, she will always remain a problematic figure.

What makes Mexico 86 so incredibly haunting and drives it home, even in those moments when it could lapse off or we could find ourselves thinking “that’s unrealistic!” is that the story is the filmmaker, César Diaz’s own. In his press notes, the director states “I was born in 1978, during the civil war in Guatemala. My mother was involved in the struggle against the dictatorship and had to go into exile in Mexico when I was 3 years old.” He continues, explaining in intimate details, “she did it for her own safety, but also in order to carry on the struggle. I remained in Guatemala with my grandmother. This is why I never was my mother’s son. I was my grandmother’s son, and I saw my mother as a friend, as a sister. I never doubted her love for me, but I needed her presence. She just couldn’t give it to me.”

Filmmaker César Diaz

While this situation isn’t a common one, it also doesn’t strike me as so unusual to be the child of leftist, revolutionary parents, for those of us born in the late 1960’s and early 70’s. From the leftist marches and revolts against the Vietnam War, held throughout the US, to the Chilean revolutionaries who fled, or perished, from the Pinochet regime, to the Red Brigades in Italy, which were manipulated and infiltrated to make communism appear a criminal political belief, the people who made up the corps of these revolutions must have all had children and families. And, I imagine, just as many stories to tell.

But Diaz is extraordinary in that he never judges his mother, instead filling his film with a sense of loss — her loss of being just a regular woman, something many of us take for granted and even complain about. And his loss, Marco’s from being her son, without all the tenderness and discord that could bring. What is apparent in Diaz’s soft masterpiece is how much he’s personally missed out on. From the simple luxury of having a meal with one’s mom, to the even more precious indulgence of arguing about the most mundane things — like which is our favorite soccer team and how we’d like to wear our hair.

The film’s title Mexico 86 refers to year the World Cup was held in Mexico. And Diaz once again sheds light on the importance of the year and the event in his story:

“I chose to set the story in 1986, the year of the World Cup in Mexico. That year is part of my childhood memories and offers an interesting contrast between the joyous popular atmosphere and the difficulties faced by the revolutionary militants. 1986 was also a pivotal year for Guatemala: the authorities had proclaimed an amnesty law which allowed the resistance fighters to surrender without punishment, as long as they collaborated with the government. Many militants who had grown tired of the struggle returned to Guatemala. Later, we learned that the government manipulated these reformed militants in order to strike the resistance even harder.”

Mexico 86 world premiered at this year’s Locarno Film Festival. It is written and directed by César Diaz, with cinematography by Virginie Surdej and editing by Alain Dessauvage. It is a production by Need Productions & Tripode Productions. International sales are handled by Bac Films International / Goodfellas.

Top image courtesy of the filmmaker, used with permission.

In Film, Film Festivals, review Tags Mexico 86, Cesar Diaz, Locarno Film Festival, Bérénice Béjo, Guatemala, Julieta Egurrola, Mexico world cup, Virginie Surdej, Alain Dessauvage, Need Productions, Tripode Productions, Bac Films International / Goodfellas
← Locarno Golden Leopard winner 'Toxic' by Saulė Bliuvaitė reviewedTrailer released for 'Disclaimer': **Not to be watched if you can't handle entertainment →
Post Archive
  • May 2025
  • April 2025
  • March 2025
  • February 2025
  • January 2025
  • December 2024
  • November 2024
  • October 2024
  • September 2024
  • August 2024
  • July 2024
  • June 2024
  • May 2024
  • April 2024
  • March 2024
  • February 2024
  • January 2024
  • December 2023
  • November 2023
  • October 2023
  • September 2023
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • November 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • April 2020
  • February 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
 

Featured Posts

Featured
The Extrardinary Miss Flower review for E Nina Rothe.jpg
May 2, 2025
The power of one, letter: 'The Extraordinary Miss Flower' review
May 2, 2025
May 2, 2025
Most People Die on Sundays for ENinaRothe.jpg
Apr 28, 2025
To be young, gifted and... gay! A review of Iair Said's 'Most People Die on Sundays'
Apr 28, 2025
Apr 28, 2025
the-accountant-2-ben-affleck-jon-bernthal for ENinaRothe.jpg
Apr 25, 2025
I'll give you one, no make that 2 good reasons to watch 'The Accountant 2' with Ben Affleck
Apr 25, 2025
Apr 25, 2025
UnBroken_Weber_Siblings_Allied Forces_Bremerhaven_Germany_1946 for ENinaRothe.png
Apr 21, 2025
Courage decoded: Beth Lane's 'UnBroken' is the film you need to watch on Netflix
Apr 21, 2025
Apr 21, 2025
Olmo Schnabel's Pet Shop Days for ENinaRothe.jpg
Mar 12, 2025
Olmo Schnabel's 'Pet Shop Days', EP'd by Martin Scorsese to finally release in the US
Mar 12, 2025
Mar 12, 2025