Description
Alfonso Arau is interviewed by Michael Ramos-Araizaga at Arau’s home in Mexico City on November 26, 2016.
Arau begins by discussing his formative years in Mexico City. He talks about the premature death of his father, his time spent studying medicine and his love of classical ballet. He remembers going to the movies to see such stars of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema as Jorge Negrete and Gloria Marín. He credits documentary filmmaker Julio Pliego with giving him an unofficial education in cinema and for introducing him to the worlds of Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton, Laurel and Hardy and the Marx Broth-ers. He also speaks fondly of Seki Sano, the Japanese actor, stage director and choreographer, who shaped his career in the dramatic arts.
Arau share memories of acting alongside the actor and comedian Sergio Corona and going to Cuba to work on Canal 4 television shows in the late 1950s. He discusses the impact of the Cuban revolution on his life and career. He traces his friendship with Alejandro Jodorowsky, and calls Jodorowsky’s film El Topo (1970) “the most beautiful Western ever filmed.” He recounts the first time he met Luis Buñuel, his early impressions of Hollywood and how he ended up being cast in Sam Peckinpah’s The Wild Bunch (1969). Arau chronicles his transition from acting to directing and shares his experiences collaborating with Héctor Ortega on El águila descalza (The Barefoot Eagle, 1971) and their second film together Calzonzin inspector (1974). He talks in-depth about his film Como agua para chocolate (Like Water for Chocolate, 1992), and contemplates how the film’s success was due to its ability to transcend cultural boundaries. He asserts that the screening of the film at the Cannes Film Festival introduced the world market to Mexican cinema.
Throughout the interview, Arau discusses numerous films, from his role in John Landis’ ¡Three Amigos! (1986) to his Hollywood directorial debut A Walk in the Clouds (1995), starring Keanu Reeves. He emphasizes the importance of Latin themes in his directorial works, particularly the genre of magical realism, in which the metaphysical, the esoteric and the occult all play a part. He discusses the evolving landscape of Mexican cinema and touches upon the ways in which it has influenced the Hollywood film industry throughout the years.
(jtakahashi 7/21/17)
