Feature film
Roots
Raíces
Benito Alazraki · 1955
Synopsis
Four stories set among four Indian peoples. In “Les Vaches”, a young Otomí couple in the Mezquital valley live in poverty and drought. In “Notre-Dame”, an American anthropologist settles in a Chamula village in Chiapas. In “Le Borgne”, a mother in Yucatán seeks a miracle for the diseased eye of her son, mocked by the other children. In “La Pouliche”, near El Tajín, a foreign archaeologist pursues a young Indian woman.
Context
Produced by Manuel Barbachano Ponce, the film adapts four stories from El diosero (1952), a collection by the ethnologist Francisco Rojas González. Shot in 1953 on location, with local inhabitants and almost no professional actors, it was photographed by Hans Beimler and Walter Reuter. Shown at Venice in 1954, then in competition at Cannes in May 1955, it was released in Mexico on 10 June 1955.
Who it is for
A film of an hour and three quarters in four independent stories, each of which can be watched on its own.
Prizes and reception
International Critics' Prize at the Cannes Film Festival and a special Ariel in 1956 for its contribution to experimental cinema.
Sources for this page 4
The pages consulted to check this page.