Rowan Sullivan, Author at FilmRoot

Best International Films of 2025 – From North Macedonia to Zambia

2025 saw the return of some of cinema’s biggest voices, and most of them delivered. Jafar Panahi, Joachim Trier, and Kaouther Ben Hania all came back with hits, while Bong Joon-ho’s divisive follow-up to Parasite and Abderrahmane Sissako’s Black Tea were notable exceptions. Cannes continued to be a strong predictor of the Academy’s International Feature Film nominees as It Was Just an Accident, The Secret Agent, and Sirât all earned prizes in France.

Speaking of the Academy, they picked a strong 5 international features this year – the only film we’re missing is Sirât which I am yet to see. Surprisingly, despite the presence of 5 highly celebrated filmmakers on the nominee list, only 2 of them have been nominated before!

So go and watch the Academy nominees where you can and use our list below to broaden your horizons and discover films beyond the recognized names. As always, please reach out to us with your thoughts. We’re always eager to find out what we’ve overlooked or missed!

20 Best International Films of 2025

20. Belen (Argentina)

A surprise inclusion on the International Feature Film shortlist for the Academy Awards, Belen is a gripping activist movie that highlights and challenges the abortion laws of Argentina. If you’re a fan of court-room thrillers that take on injustice, give Belen a watch.

19. We Believe You (Belgium)

Tensions rise and family secrets unravel over the course of a crucial day in a cleverly crafted court-room drama. The director’s choice to shoot this entire film in tightly framed close-ups keeps the full-picture deliberately hidden from us. In a narrative influenced by Kurosawa great Rashomon, we have to make a leap of faith to believe the words of a strained mother fighting for her children.

18. The Tale of Silyan (North Macedonia)

This is Kotevska’s follow up to her brilliant debut documentary Honeyland. Whilst it’s missing the brilliantly unbelievable singular narrative of her debut, this admirable follow up has a range of beautiful landscape shots and an interesting anti-capitalist thread that makes it a highly interesting watch.

17. Misericordia (France)

This is French slow-burn mystery at its best. Jeremie returns to his hometown for the funeral of his former boss, the village baker. Whilst there, he picks up old rivalries and new friends with dubious intentions. If you like movies that look normal and familiar, but take you on queer and unexpected paths, this film is for you.

16. The Voice of Hind Rajab (Palestine)

Kaouther Ben Hania is no stranger to making polarizing, emotion filled films or breaking the fourth wall; she has done it well in her previous films (see Beauty and the Dogs and Four Daughters). In The Voice of Hind Rajab, Hania blends the real voice recording of a five-year old girl trapped in a car under fire in Gaza into the narrative to create an emotionally fierce critique of the Israeli attacks on Gaza.

15. Caught by the Tides (China)

Two Chinese films in 2025 time-traveled through the 20th and 21st Century to paint pictures of the recent changes in China. Whilst the experimentation in Bi Gan’s Resurrection is more inventive, Jia Zhangke’s Caught By The Tides is more complete. Zhangke depicts two experiences of the country’s dramatic transformation through a pair of estranged lovers: one evolving with modernity, and another caught by the tides.

14. Stranger Eyes (Singapore)

The more you watch someone, the more of a criminal they become. This unnerving film captures loneliness brilliantly. Like Michael Jackson’s ‘Stranger in Moscow’, no matter how much you’re filmed or sharing space with other people, the close proximity to others does not rid yourself of loneliness. Watch this film if you enjoy feeling uneasy.

13. Don’t You Let Me Go (Uruguay)

Trauma affects everyone differently. In Don’t You Let Me Go, Adela takes a comforting, nostalgic journey back in time to re-live the good times with her best friend. The weight of the present is whisked away by whimsical dream-scapes and the warmth of the past, allowing Adela and the audience find a semblance of peace and happiness.

12. We Shall Not Be Moved (Mexico)

First time feature length director, Pierre Saint Martin Castellanos, leans into the black and white Mexico City aesthetic familiar from Alonso Ruizpalacios’ Gueros to interrogate a historically sensitive topic in Mexican film: the 1968 Tlatelolco massacre. Unlike other films which cover the massacre, Castellanos skips the violence to bring plenty of dark humor to the lasting trauma. Luisa Huertas is the star of the show, bringing plenty of life and bite to an aging woman after vengeance.

11. Universal Language (Canada)

Ever wondered how Winnipeg would look in Iran? Here’s your golden chance. Universal Language delivers a vivid mash-up of two contrasting cultures brought to life through carefully crafted production design. The quirky quests, intersecting ‘side-quests’ merge into a loose singular narrative, making the film feel less like traditional art-house cinema, and more like an intriguing open-world video game. It’s fresh, playful, and unlike anything else released in the last few years.

10. Magellan (Philippines)

Lav Diaz is back with another slow film! This one moves like a Paul Greengrass thriller relative to the ultra slow pace that defines much of his oeuvre, but it’s still beautifully and patiently crafted. In Magellan, Diaz casts Mexican super-star Gael Garcia Bernal as a deeply narcissistic explorer, stripping him completely of his heroic historical aura. Rather than reinforcing the myth that permeates Filipino culture, Diaz dismantles it, shifting focus to Enrique and Humabon – two Malay figures largely erased from Western history. By restoring their presence, the film re-frames the Magellan narrative and challenges the colonial lens through which this history has been told in the West and the Philippines.

9. Romeria (Spain)

Carla Simon is establishing herself as one of the top filmmakers in Spain. This is just her third feature, but watching it feels like she has been making movies for decades. Just like in her Golden Bear winner Alcarràs, Simon creates a incredibly strong sense of setting and fully fleshed characters in such a short time. In Romería, we swing across Spain, displacing the hot summer of Catalonia’s peach harvest for the grey buildings, overcast skies, and frigid Atlantic seas of Vigo. The setting works to hide family secrets as Marina returns to the city in search of her lost past.

8. My Armenian Phantoms (Armenia)

When I think of compilation films, I think of Los Angeles Plays Itself, and the diary films of Jonas Mekas. The first uses archival clips from a wide range of films set in Los Angeles to show how the city has changed alongside Hollywood, whilst Jonas Mekas uses raw personal footage to document his experiences in a diary format. My Armenian Phantoms borrows from both of these styles to take you on a journey through Armenian film history – spinning you onto a bunch of Armenian films to watch next – whilst writing a moving love letter to her father and Armenia itself.

7. 2000 Meters to Andriivka (Ukraine)

As shown in the image above, this war documentary places you directly in the action. Body-cam footage looks like a first-person shooter as a group of soldiers inch forward through trench warfare. However, this is a far bleaker reality. We’re introduced to soldiers minutes before they become lifeless bodies on screen, and for what? To re-conquer a few meters of what was once forest and move closer to Andriivka. Both the land and the town are now stripped of life. This is an unflinchingly real anti-war film.

6. Afternoons of Solitude (Spain)

Afternoons of Solitude is not a film which takes a stance on the controversy of bull-fighting. Instead, it’s a mesmerizing portrait of cherub-faced matador, Andres Roca Rey, and the choreographed routines he shares with his loyal team. It captures the banal in the car rides from fight to fight, and the rituals of dressing and undressing between the violence of the arena itself. By mixing the mundane routines with the brutal fights, the film invites you to sit with the compelling absurdity (or beauty depending on the eye of the beholder) of this age-old spectacle.

5. On Becoming A Guinea Fowl (Zambia)

After breaking onto the art-house scene with I Am Not A Witch in 2017, director Rungano Nyoni returned with On Becoming A Guinea Fowl, a bold second feature that puts Zambia on the global film map. Grounded in place and culture, this film offers an exploration of inter-generational trauma and the culture of silence which sustains it through an anti-patriarchal lens.

4. Sentimental Value (Norway)

If you’re experiencing an early mid-life crisis, or examining your relationship with your parents (or elder kids), this film is for you. In his follow up to The Worst Person in the World, Joachim Trier turns to the next chapter in life, once again led by Renate Reinsve, as her character experiences an existential crisis triggered by the return of her father. As with his previous films, Trier’s strength lies in his dialogue – he somehow manages to capture family dynamics that feel natural and familiar. Some of the moments will affect you long after the final scene.

3. A Poet (Colombia)

Imagine a tragicomic white-savior movie with the energy of Uncut Gems and you’ll find yourself close to A Poet. Oscar Restrepo, a proud poet fails to recapture his former success in the empty bottles that leave him shouting drunken verses at transients in the middle of the night. To try and reconnect with his teenage daughter, he turns to teaching, and finds an unpolished gem in one of his students to live his dreams through. However, not everyone understands his intentions. Class and race collide in this roller-coaster tragicomedy powered by an anxious, always moving camera, sudden cuts, and Oscar’s winning smile.

2. IT Was Just An Accident (Iran)

Panahi is just playing now. Still officially banned from film-making, Panahi delivers a surprisingly traditional thriller that shows no signs of restriction. Its unambiguous critique of power in Iran places this one alongside the recent, acclaimed works of Asgari and Rasoulof. The film’s genius lies in its construction: Panahi gradually assembles the narrative with each new character he introduces, creating a Russian-doll script that deepens with every layer.

1. The Secret Agent (Brazil)

Kleber Mendonca Filho is back with another hit which blends the slow, patient pace Aquarius with flashes of violence a la Bacurau. This is by no means a spy film, but a portrait of Brazil in the 1970’s; a turbulent moment in which anyone could fall foul of a government aligned with capitalists and control. The film’s beauty lies in its warm tone, which conveys the sweltering heat of Recife, and in the small communities of resistance that offer glimmers of hope. The archivists that uncover Armando’s story expose the danger of forgetting history, and how easily it repeats itself.

HONORABLE MENTIONS FOR BEST INTERNATIONAL FILMS OF 2025:

Ghost Trail (France), Meeting with Pol Pot (Cambodia), Young Mothers (Belgium), Black Tea (Mauritania/China), Resurrection (China)

If you think we’ve missed a film from a list that you think is one of the best international films of 2025, please get in touch by email.

Enamorada – Melodrama at the Height of Mexico’s Golden Age

Enamorada Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Enamorada is one of Mexico’s most iconic films, released at the height of the Mexican Golden Age of cinema. It’s also one of the most entertaining owing to the screwball romance of two stars at the height of their powers (Maria Felix and Pedro Armendariz) filled with slapstick gags. In the 10 years following the release of Alla en el Rancho Grande, Mexican dramas had: established a distinct style owing to cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa, developed a star system inspired by Hollywood, and continued to construct Mexican identity in the post-revolutionary years.

From: Mexico, North America
Watch: JustWatch, IMDb
Next: Doña Bárbara, Maria Candelaria, The Taming of the Shrew

The Director: Emilio Fernandez

It was a roller coaster journey that led Emilio Fernandez to become one of the most prolific directors of the Mexican Golden Age. He was born in Coahuila, closer to the U.S. than to the Mexican capital, but was brought into the political craziness by fighting alongside the northern generals in the Mexican revolution. As the revolution cooled down, Fernandez become disillusioned with the pro-U.S. actions of the Obregon government and revolted alongside de la Huerta. His participation in the uprising forced him into exile alongside de la Huerta in the U.S. After working odd-jobs in Texas and Chicago, Fernandez settled in Los Angeles, finding work as a stonemason for Hollywood studio construction and appearing as an extra in the occasional Hollywood film. His big moment came with the arrival of revolutionary filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein (Battleship Potemkin, October) from the USSR. Screenings of Eisenstein’s films and the fragments of Que Viva Mexico! (cobbled together posthumously in 1978) that Fernandez saw with his own eyes on the cutting room floor set his course for the Mexican film industry.

Fernandez was welcomed back to Mexico and to a film industry that was growing owing to the government of President Lazaro Cardenas which saw film as an opportunity to build national identity. Before taking to directing, he starred in Janitzio as the lead actor – one of the first sound films made in Mexico, and even appears in Alla en el Rancho Grande as a dancer. His directorial debut, La Isla de la Pasion, caught the eye of the Mexican film studio Films Mundiales, who brought him into the Mexican star system.

Five years later, and fresh off international success at Cannes with Maria Candelaria – a tragic tale from pre-revolutionary Mexico that won top prize at the Cannes film festival – Fernandez was one of the most sought after directors in town. To cement his reputation, he brought Mexican star system superstars Maria Felix (Dona Barbara) and Pedro Armendariz (Maria Candelaria) to Enamorada, and most importantly, the iconic style of one of the most important cinematographers in film history, Gabriel Figueroa.

The Iconic Style of Gabriel Figueroa

Sure, Enamorada recruited some of the biggest stars to make it an assured success. However, the secret sauce was cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa. He was the cinematic cornerstone behind the Mexican Golden Age, providing the cinematic visuals for all the big films from the start to the end, from Alla en el Rancho Grande (1936) to Macario (1960).

So where did an orphan that grew up in Mexico City at the height of the Mexican revolution find his style? One piece of the puzzle is legendary cinematographer, Gregg Toland (Citizen Kane). When the family fortune bequeathed to Figueroa ran dry, he was sent to the darkroom to make a living from still photography. His work caught the eye of a prominent politician who gave him a scholarship to study in Hollywood under Toland. It was here that he developed his chiaroscuro style from the deep focus and lighting Toland was known for (see below for a perfect example of Figueroa’s chiaroscuro style in Maria Candelaria below)

Maria Candelaria (1944)

To build his own style, Figueroa incorporated the powerful and bold images of the Mexican muralists. This integrated a distinctly Mexican artistic legacy that linked Figueroa’s style to the pre-Colombian Mayan artists at Bonampak (see here) and the modern, politically charged murals of Rivera, Orozco, and Siquieros amongst others. Compare the two images below and you can see how Figueroa used the bold dynamic styles of the modern muralists in his work to great effect.

Orozco, Zapatistas (1931) vs. Figeuroa, Maria Candelaria (1944)

Lastly, a quick shout-out to Figueroa for the following two incredible musical numbers in Enamorada.

Ave Maria sung by the church choir as General enters the church. Instead of just showing the choir or the General, Figueroa cuts between the two with images of the lavishly decorated cathedral ceiling to show the power of the church over everyone in Mexico regardless of class.
My personal favorite – La Malaguena Salerosa sung by a few mariachi hired by the General. The editing in this scene is gold – the extreme close up of the eyes of Maria Felix (Beatriz) as the music starts, and a camera which gradually pulls away from her as she loses her conceit. Then the shots of the General sweating and seen down below through the balustrades of Maria’s balcony – a class below, that Beatriz must descend for the future of Mexico!

Simply put, Gabriel Figueroa is a genius that is well worth his reputation amongst the greats.

Reinforcing Mexican identity

Just as Alla en el Rancho Grande romanticized the Porfirian haciendas of pre-revolutionary Mexico, Enamorada romanticized the revolution itself. The revolutionary trauma was still fresh and the brutality portrayed in earlier films like Vamonos con Pancho Villa (1936) brought back the horrors of the endless war. Instead of depicting the honest brutality of the revolution, Fernandez used it to evoke national pride, adding to the identity building that de la Fuentes started with Alla en el Rancho Grande.

How does he do it? He ties together the lives of a rough revolutionary general with a spoiled daughter of a wealthy landowner in Cholula in a light-hearted comedy and shows that when the classes unite, Mexico will march forward (as shown in a powerfully patriotic final shot). Two bonuses additions further reinforce Mexican pride in this film:

Lower class General Juan Jose wins Beatriz’ hand from an American. Big patriotic bonus points for this, as the U.S. was never well regarded in Mexico after the invasions of 1846 and 1914, as well as for controlling many of Mexico’s natural resources (Mexico was its most united in 1938 when Cardenas nationalized Mexican oil).
The catholic church is the glue that brings the General and Beatriz together, ironing out their differences and miscommunication. As a fiercely catholic nation – seeing the church as the mediator promoted the role of La Guadalupana moving forward especially in recent presidencies which were fiercely anti-clerical.

Through it’s narrative, Enamorada reframed the Mexican revolution as a war that united the country and set it on course for a positive future.

What to Watch Next

For more films from the prolific director Emilio Fernandez, go back in time and check out Flor Silvestre (1943) and Maria Candelaria (1944) and then go forward in time to watch La Perla (1947) and Rio Escondido (1948).

If you’re looking for more comedy from the Golden Age, the answers are Cantinflas, Ahi esta el detalle (1940), and Tin Tan, El Rey del Barrio (1950).

For more high profile films that captivated the nation, try the most popular film from the Mexican Golden Age – Nosotros los Pobres (1948) – featuring Pedro Infante. You could also watch Infante rap battle Jorge Negrete in Dos Tipos de Cuidado (1953).

Quick Recap of AFI Fest 2025

AFI Fest brought some of the most highly anticipated international films to Hollywood from the 2025 film festival circuit for a long-weekend celebration of film. AFI Fest gives locals a chance to see a experience a wide range of global stories and film critics a chance to catch up on films from Sundance, Berlin, Venice, and Cannes ahead of any general releases. We broadened our viewing habits this time to include a mix of short films – see our short film recap linked here – to look out for some up-and-coming filmmakers. Our feature film recap below spanned 3 continents – highlighting some stand-out films from Colombia, Armenia, and Spain!

Our Top Three from AFI Fest 2025

1. A Poet (Colombia)

2. My Armenian Phantoms (Armenia)

3. Romería (Spain)

Honorable Mentions

We Believe You (Belgium)

Tensions rise and family secrets unravel over the course of a crucial day in a cleverly crafted court-room drama. The director’s choice to shoot this entire film in tightly framed close-ups keeps the full-picture deliberately hidden from us. Just like the civil court judge, we have to make a leap of faith to believe the words of a strained mother fighting for her children.

Young Mothers (Belgium)

Young Mothers is another authentic drama to add to the already impressive filmography of the Dardenne brothers. The film pieces together 5 unique portraits of 5 different girls at a maternal support home near Liège to paint a picture of the social challenges of teenage motherhood.

Kontinental ’25 (Romania)

Radu Jude always has something to say. Whilst Kontinental ’25 may not as politically powerful as his previous films – such as Do Not Expect too Much from the End of the World and I Do Not Care if we Go Down in History as Barbarians – it still contains his very obvious dark humor. It shifts Europe ’51 by laughing at the main character, a bailiff consumed by guilt from an eviction gone wrong, to show the lack of meaningful action taken to reverse the inhumanity of crony capitalism.

Another year, another great slate of films from AFI Fest. We strongly encourage everyone to check out next years edition. Please find previous coverage of AFI Fest here.

The Best Short Films at AFI Fest 2025

Outside of the red carpet film premieres and international film festival circuit darlings, there’s a diverse collection of short films screening at AFI Fest 2025. This is the section where you can find up-and-coming filmmakers aiming to make a name for themselves before they try their luck at a feature length film. It’s also the section where you can see the widest range of film styles. From hand-drawn animation to picturesque documentaries, deeply personal stories paired to dark comedies, there’s something for everyone. Plus as AFI Fest is a qualifying film festival for the short film awards at the Academy Awards, you might just see a future Academy Award winner without expecting it.

Here’s our highlights from the short films at AFI Fest 2025.

The Best Short Films at AFI Fest 2025

Pavilhão (Brazil)

I love short films which take you on a journey into another culture. When you’ve finished watching Pavilhão it feels like you’ve taken a small trip to Brazil and immersed yourself in the world of Samba. The visuals guide you from Samba’s African origins through to the joyous dance and music of the present day carnival culture. Watch to become an honorary part of the movement.

Water Sports (Philippines)

Heat exhausts people mentally and physically. In Manila, a group of high school students go stir crazy in this sexualized social-media-influenced fever dream. Short TikTok style video clips fit the physical context perfectly – who can concentrate in a heat wave – whilst disturbingly colored bottles of water paired with TV hosts telling everyone to stay hydrated convey the city’s inability to confront current and future climate disasters. In Water Sports, all you can do in the face of impending disaster is laugh.

Beneath Which Rivers Flow - AFI Fest 2025

Beneath Which Rivers Flow (Iraq)

Some short films focus completely on the cinematography to craft some truly spectacular shots. Beneath Which Rivers Flow is one of those short films. The look of the film reminded me of Notturno – a beautifully shot documentary feature from AFI Fest 2020 that relied on the visual power of the images to move it’s audience. There’s no dialogue in Beneath Which Rivers Flow as it’s power, like Notturno, comes from the carefully framed shots of the drying marshlands and it’s impact on human life.

My Wonderful Life (Singapore)

If carefully framed shots of natural landscapes is not your thing, and you’re looking for a critique of modern work/life balance and the patriarchal pressure on modern mothers with ever-escalating animated body-horror, My Wonderful Life delivers. The South Park-style animation of an overworked Singaporean mum pushes itself into dark comedy to prove its point.

S The Wolf (Egypt)

Simple, hand-drawn animation can be hugely effective. Just see Don Hertzfeldt’s It’s Such a Beautiful Day. Moving away from the pop-art shock-factor animation of My Wonderful Life, S the Wolf‘s simple hand drawn style is the perfect medium for a stream of consciousness journey through a collection of hair related personal memories. Each short anecdote opens a window into the director’s childhood and explores his relationship with his father accompanied with plenty of deadpan banter.

Once In A Body (Colombia)

Have you ever been to hell!? Like S The Wolf, Once In A Body takes you on a highly personal trip through animation. However, this short swaps humor and hand-drawn style for an exploration of trauma in drawings that dynamically transform from faces and bodies to a literal visit to hell as our narrators journey to hell and back.

Petra and the Sun (Chile)

Stop motion puppets are a unique animation choice. They’re not my favorite style as I find something creepy and deceitful about the uncanny way they look and move. For Petra And The Sun, puppets are the perfect choice to add to the creepy story in which a lonely woman hides her necrophilia as the seasons change and the world gets warmer.

We strongly encourage everyone to check out AFI Fest next year. Please find previous coverage of AFI Fest here and check the official AFI Fest website for news on next year’s schedule!

Alla En El Rancho Grande – The Genesis of Mexico’s Golden Age

Alla En El Rancho Grande Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

The Mexican Golden Age of Cinema started with Alla En El Rancho Grande which became the first Mexican blockbuster in 1936. It established the film industry in Mexico and introduced one of the most popular genres in Mexican film history: la comedia ranchera – essentially the cowboy musical – which reinforced Mexican identity at home and abroad.

From: Mexico, North America
Watch: YouTube, JustWatch, IMDb
Next: Enamorada, Maria Candelaria, The Pearl

Alla En El Rancho Grande – Breakdown

1936 was a big year for the Mexican film industry. It saw the release of the country’s first ever blockbuster which put Mexico on the film world map. But how did this film break through and kick off the Mexican Golden Age of Cinema? Two external factors were crucial: revolutionary fatigue and timing.

1. Revolutionary Fatigue

In Mexico, the revolution had been running more hot than cold since 1910. The chaos did not end with Pancho Villa’s surrender in 1920. Multiple revolutionary politicians fought over power for the best part of the next two decades, and a violent religious rebellion (the Cristero War) split the heart of the country in the late 1920s.

In 1934 Lazaro Cardenas won the general election and outmaneuvered Elias Calles – the man holding the strings of power for the previous 6 years – to take control of Mexico. Cardenas is one of Mexico’s most popular leaders for establishing wide-spread land reform and nationalizing the Mexican oil industry (Pemex). Less known is that his administration founded the Filmoteca de la UNAM and incentivized domestic film production with tax breaks and grants. Cardenas and his administration saw film as an opportunity to strengthen national identity. After years of revolutionary uncertainty, the country needed to restore national pride to re-unite the country. Alla En El Rancho Grande was just the film to do this. It hearkened back to the ‘simple’ pre-revolutionary days, re-establishing the iconic charro dress and popularizing Mexican ranchera music.

2. Timing

Whilst the film-making wheels were turning in Mexico with the new initiatives from the Cardenas administration, the film centers in the U.S. and Europe were on the road to World War II. Film production in the U.S. and Europe were de-prioritized for the war effort, reducing competition for Mexican films to reach more cinema-goers domestically and abroad. This helped spike the immense popularity of Alla En El Rancho Grande and was the spark that lit up the Golden Age of Mexican cinema.

Building a National Identity

Alla En El Rancho Grande, still had to win the popularity of the Mexican public. So what made this the film to do it?

Similar to Hollywood musicals, Alla En El Rancho Grande built a fictional utopian vision of a romanticized past (in this case, pre-revolutionary Mexico). It features self sufficient haciendas run by benevolent landowners that take care of their workers (even if they are idly drunk all day, everyday) and problems that are sung away in spontaneous song. This conservative romanticized past ran against the progressive revolutionary reform of Lazaro Cardenas. It evoked nostalgia for ‘simpler pre-revolutionary’ days which helped create a post-revolutionary calm. In turbulent times, nostalgia thrives.

The romanticized past was crucial in building national identity. It popularized the ranchera style; charro dress for men and china poblana style dresses for women, and built on this visual style through the songs, especially the guitar playing and rap-battle style singing. These tokens of the Mexican past became signifiers for Mexico throughout the Golden Age of Mexican Cinema and beyond, creating a style and culture that are still used today to express Mexican pride at home and abroad.

What Next?

For something different from the same director behind this film, check out Vamonos con Pancho Villa. Unlike Alla en el Rancho Grande, which tries to blur the memory of revolutionary violence, this one brings the brutality of the war all back without censorship.

For more comedias rancheras, explore the filmography of Pedro Infante and Jorge Negrete (Dos tipos de cuidado and Los tres Garcia). These two prolific singers, made huge names for themselves through their musicals at the height of the Golden Age of Mexican cinema, following Tito Guizar’s lead.