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Page 6 of 12
Cha Cha Cha Films / Rudo y Cursi
At the tail-end of 2008 saw the premiere of the Mexican film Rudo y Cursi which is the first major release of Cha Cha Cha films, a production company formed by internationally acclaimed directors Alfonso Cuaron (Children of Men), Guillermo Del Toro (Hellboy II) and Alejandro Iñarritu (Babel). Cha Cha Cha films is the first ever Mexican production company that has the backing of a major Hollywood studio - Universal Films - and has signed a five-picture deal worth a US$100 million.
Although the Mexican film industry has been in perpetual renaissance since Como Agua Para Chocolate premiered in 1992 and went on to become the highest grossing foreign film ever released in the United States at the time, the self-belief didn't coalesce till the directorial debut of Alejandro Iñarritu's Amores Perros in 2000 which was the first ever Mexican film to pick up an Oscar nomination in the Best Foreign Film category. This gritty look at the underbelly of Mexican society interwove three stories whose recurring theme was the principal character's affection in each segment for their dog. Amores Perros garnered many awards along the film festival circuit and became a favorite among art house critics.
Meanwhile fellow Mexican director Alfonso Cuaron (and two years Iñarritu's senior) had already established a name for himself in Hollywood as a competent filmmaker - Little Princess, Great Expectations - but yearned to return to Mexico to make a film that was a nod to his roots and upbringing. Y Tu Mama Tambien, which was written by Cuaron's brother Carlos, was released in 2001 and starred Gael Garcia Bernal - who had featured prominently in Amores Perros - Diego Luna - who would later star in a slew of Hollywood films including Steven Spielberg's The Terminal - and Spanish actress Maribel Verdu. It was a coming-of-age drama of two teenage boys and a woman in her late twenties taking a road trip across Mexico's rural landscape. The film was a massive hit and ironically catapulted Cuaron's career beyond any success he had previously scored in Hollywood. This independent movie would be instrumental behind Cuaron taking the helm for the third Harry Potter installment The Prisoner of Azkaban which Potter creator J.K. Rowling described as her favorite of all the Potter films - she was also a big fan of Y Tu Mama Tambien.
A year after Y Tu Mama Tambien's release, Jalisco native Guillermo del Toro was notching up millions at the U.S. box office with Blade II, the sequel to a tale of a vampire slayer starring Wesley Snipes. The film grossed over US$150 million worldwide and established Del Toro as a director who could deliver a movie with groundbreaking effects and an imaginative storyline. Of the three directors - they are affectionately referred to as the Three Amigos by the press - Del Toro is the most sought after, partly because of his box office bankability but also for his natural aptitude in handling large scale budgets and fantastical themes which are increasingly the staple diet for Hollywood studios vying to make money. His ubiquity has resulted in a schedule that is fully-booked till 2017 and his next release will be J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit - and the soon-to-be written sequel that will bridge the gap with Lord of the Rings - for which he was handpicked by producer (and Oscar-winning director) Peter Jackson.
With only three years separating Del Toro (44), Iñarritu (45) and Cuaron (47) and with their tremendous successes at home but, more importantly, abroad it seemed the logical conclusion that these three talented filmmakers - who are just as passionate about being Mexican as they are for making movies - would come together in a professional manner. The gensis of that collaboration was framed at the 2007 Academy Awards when all three were up for Oscar nominations. In fact, 2007 was something of a boon year for the Mexican film industry as an unprecedented number of Mexicans were in the running for an Oscar. However, despite the number of nominations - Mexico was only behind the United States and Britain in the final tally - none of the three directors picked up the coveted golden statuette. It was a disappointment especially when all three directors were interviewed together on the Oscar red carpet before the awards ceremony began. Many had hoped that interview would be a pre-cursor for a historic night for Mexican cinema which had shone so brightly during the fifties only to wane and falter till it hit rock bottom with cheap sex comedies and musicals in the seventies and eighties.
In spite of not winning that night, the seeds had been sown between the three men in forming a production company that would develop their own film projects and give them complete creative control. It wasn't long before the historic announcement came that for the first time ever a Hollywood studio - Universal Pictures - had bankrolled a Mexican production company to the tune of US$100 million in a five-picture deal. Cha Cha Cha films was formed in mid-2007 and would feature at least one film directed by each of the directors with three films being shot in English and the other two in Spanish. In an official statement released by the company, Universal Picures (and Focus Films) were applauded for their backing:
"We are proud to be not only part of the world cinema community, but also students of it. Universal and Focus are affording us a safe haven to keep doing the work we love as well as nurture other filmmakers."
The first Cha Cha Cha release was Rudo Y Cursi which premiered in Mexico in December of 2008. This was the directorial debut of Alfonso Cuaron's brother Carlos who also penned the film's screenplay. It reunited Y Tu Mama Tambien co-stars Diego Luna and Gael Garcia Bernal and was by far the biggest Mexican film release of the year. It was evident that the names behind this film and the actors in it would fuel a tremendous amount of hype and expectation. Therefore it was astute that the film was a relatively low-budget affair with the star-power of the actors and producers being the biggest draw. As for the film, it's a tale of two working-class brothers who work on a banana plantation and whose lives are suddenly turned upside down when they get spotted by a soccer scout and find themselves playing for two rival teams in Mexico City. It's a black comedy that plays on the themes of fraternal strife and the naivete of the rural laborer overwhelmed by the lights of the big city and all the evil temptations that accompany fame and fortune. While perhaps not as incisive and emotional as Y Tu Mama Tambien - the film doesn't pretend to work on that level - it is laced with bitter-sweet moments and allows the viewer to simply enjoy watching Bernal and Luna play against each other on the screen once more.
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