The Revolution in Cinema: Five films that capture the gritty reality of the Mexican Revolution

More than 30 years of rule under the late dictator Porfirio Díaz festered in 1910, as political and social factions within Mexico rose to topple his government and create a constitutional republic.

It was a time of energy, of adelitas and rancheros and legendary heroes, like Pancho Villa and Emiliano Zapata. It was the movement to fight for the upheaval of the status quo. And the films that best capture the mood of the nation come not decked in the Hollywood pizzazz of recent years, says Rogelio Agrasánchez Jr. They were made in the early 1930s, the decade following the bloody chaos ending in 1920.

In tribute to this year’s centennial anniversary of the Mexican Revolution and the bicentennial anniversary of Mexico’s independence from Spain, Agrasánchez, curator and owner of Agrasánchez Film Archive in Harlingen, has handpicked his five favorite films from the genre to screen at the Brownsville Heritage Complex.

"Enemigos," the second installment of the film series that began last month will show at 2 p.m. Sunday. Each of the next three features will be screened at the history museum in the next three months.

"One million people died in those years, from 1910 to 1920," he said. "That decade was very chaotic for Mexico, and these films reflect that chaos."

These flicks may not have the glitz of modern-day filmmaking, but they do portray the gritty realities of the war in part because many of the moviemakers from the era took up arms themselves. The director of this Sunday’s film, Chano Urueta, for instance, fought with the armies of General Pancho Villa in northern Mexico.

"They portray very crude moments of the revolution, very violent moments. These films were done when the memories of the revolution were still fresh," Agrasánchez said. "Many people in the arts and in the government at the time had experiences in the revolution. They were in the field fighting along Pancho Villa and Zapata. They were immersed in the ideology and in the whole movement."

Movie producers would later realize the box office appeal of such subject matter, embellishing future works with the cinematic trappings that garner mass audiences, Agrasánchez says. But the originals from the 1930s capture the actual "ambiente," or the atmosphere of the time, making them so valuable today.

The film series is sponsored by Agrasánchez, the city of Brownsville, the Mexican Consulate in Brownsville and the Mexican Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The idea was inspired after Agrasánchez gave a presentation on Mexican cinema last November at the city’s history museum.

All the classic Mexican films are in Spanish and are not subtitled, but Fernando Zamora, programs coordinator for the Brownsville Heritage Complex, said that should not deter moviegoers from attending.

"I still encourage anyone to come," he said. "For many of these movies, it is the sights that are interesting, not so much the dialogue."