''Such Is My Country'' () is a 1937 Mexican comedy film directed by

Arcady Boytler Arcady Sergeevich Boytler Rososky (August 31, 1895 – November 24, 1965) was a Russian-born Mexican film producer, director and screenwriter, most renowned for his films during the golden age of Mexican cinema. Boytler was born in Moscow, lived ...

and starring

Antonio R. Frausto Antonio R. Frausto (20 September 1897 – 29 January 1954) was a Mexican film actor.Mora p.39 A leading character actor he became a familiar face during the Golden age of Mexican cinema, appearing more than ninety films. He played the nineteenth c ...

, Mercedes Soler,

Juan José Martínez Casado Juan José Martínez Casado (1903–1987) was a Cuban film actor. Jarvinen p.99 He appeared in many Mexican films including during the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema. He also directed two films in the early 1950s including '' A Gypsy in Havana''. S ...

Manuel Medel Manuel Medel (1906 – 1997) was a Mexican film actor.Mraz p.125 A comedian, during the late 1930s he teamed up with the rising star Cantinflas for three films. Selected filmography * '' Such Is My Country'' (1937) * '' Heads or Tails'' (1937) * ...

, and

Mario Moreno Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely accomplished Mexican comedian and is well ...

, better known by the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Cantinflas Mario Fortino Alfonso Moreno Reyes (12 August 1911 – 20 April 1993), known by the stage name Cantinflas (), was a Mexican comedian, actor, and filmmaker. He is considered to have been the most widely accomplished Mexican comedian and is well ...

. It was the first film to feature Cantinflas in a prominent role (his film debut '' Don't Fool Yourself Dear'' only featuring him in a brief appearance) and the first of Cantinflas's films together with Medel as a team. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

José Rodríguez Granada José Rodríguez Granada was a Mexican art directorRiera p.220 who worked on more than two hundred films during his career. Selected filmography * ''Judas (1936 film), Judas'' (1936) * ''Poppy of the Road'' (1937) * ''Father's Entanglements'' (19 ...

Plot

In 1916, in the middle of the

Mexican Revolution The Mexican Revolution () was an extended sequence of armed regional conflicts in Mexico from 20 November 1910 to 1 December 1920. It has been called "the defining event of modern Mexican history". It saw the destruction of the Federal Army, its ...

, a General (Antonio R. Frausto) returns to his home village, where he is received with a great party. The general is interested in the young Isabelita (Mercedes Soler), without knowing that she already maintains a secret romance with Filomeno (Juan José Martínez Casado). Meanwhile, "El Tejón" (Cantinflas), a farmhand who idolizes the General, and Procopio (Manuel Medel), the General's right-hand man, are vying for the love of ranchwoman Cholita (Margarita Cortés).

Cast

as El Tejón *

as Procopio *

as General * Luis G. Barreiro as Licenciado * Mercedes Soler as Isabelita *Juan José Martínez Casado as Filomeno (as J.J. Martinez Casado) *Margarita Cortés as Cholita *Amelia Wilhelmy as Adelita *Josefina Segarra as Doña Tomasa *Ángel T. Sala as Compadre Gallo *Miguel Wimer as Cayetano *Luis Ureña as Nicanor *Ángel Arzamendi as Don Chon *

Guillermo Calles Guillermo Calles (25 June 1893 – 28 February 1958) was a Mexican film actor, producer and director.Agrasánchez p.158 Selected filmography * '' Behind Two Guns'' (1924) * ''Dios y Ley'' (1929) * '' El vuelo de la muerte'' (1934) * '' Such Is ...

as Gonzalo *Antonio Garay as Gómez *Ana María Castañeda as Restituta * Carolina Barret as Carolina (uncredited) *Leonor Gómez as Lupe (uncredited) *

José Elías Moreno José Elías Moreno (12 November 1910 – 15 July 1969) was a Mexican character actor. He appeared in more than 180 films between 1937 and 1969. He was from the state of Jalisco. His José Elías Moreno Jr., son of the same name, born in 1956 ...

as Party guest (uncredited) *Alicia Reyna as Cook at party (uncredited) *José Ignacio Rocha as Party guest (uncredited)

Analysis

The authors of ''Mexico: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Culture and History'' argue that the film parodied the ''comedia ranchera'' film genre, saying, "Given his decidedly un-macho persona, it seems appropriate and hardly coincidental that the first target of his humor was that the most manly of Mexican film genres, ''comedia ranchera''." Michael Werner in his ''Concise Encyclopedia of Mexico'' complimented the " Eisensteinian aesthetics that Boytler incorporates" to the film. Conversely, in his books ''Escenas de pudor y liviandad'' and ''Los ídolos a nado: Una antología global'', Carlos Monsiváis stated that Cantinflas's ''

pelado In Mexican society, ''pelado'' is "a term said to have been invented to describe a certain class of urban 'bum' in Mexico in the 1920s." It was used, however, much earlier. Lewis Garrard used it in his book, "Wah-to-yah and the Taos Trail," his fir ...

'' character was incompatible with the rural setting of the film, in contrast to the city setting of his later films, saying that " is thingis the new urban sensibility." In his book ''Más allá de las lágrimas'', Isaac León Frías collects Aurelio de los Reyes's criticism of the film's limited exterior filming, contrasting it with ''

Allá en el Rancho Grande Allá is a rock band formed by three young Chicanos (Mexican-Americans) from Chicago: Jorge Ledezma (guitars, keyboards, vibraphone, composer & producer), his brother Angel Ledezma (drums) and Lupe Martinez (vocals, guitar and keyboards). As inspir ...

'' saying, "It tries to capture the return home of the revolutionaries, but the return is a pretext for the action to take place 'inside walls' on film sets. Outdoors and natural settings take second place, the opposite of ''Allá en el Rancho Grande''. It takes refuge in the studios perhaps because another reality is more comfortably manufactured there."

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Such Is My Country 1937 comedy films 1937 films Mexican comedy films Mexican black-and-white films Films directed by Arcady Boytler 1930s Spanish-language films Spanish-language comedy films Mexican Revolution films 1930s Mexican films