Río Escondido

Rio Escondido is a classic example of the Mexican Golden Age melodrama directed by Emilio Fernandez and shot by Gabriel Figueroa with here the heroine role given to Maria Felix instead of Dolores Del Rio. The story of a struggle for social justice in a miserable isolated village is reminiscent of Italian novelist Carlo Levi's Christ Stopped at Eboli, which was made into a magnificent film by Francesco Rosi. There are especially striking compositions or women shrouded in black or cloud capped deserts with cacti and mountains in the distance, and later the drama culminates with a beautifully lit funeral scene for the little boy who was killed trying to take water which a local tyrant is hoarding, and with a shooting Felix does in her white bed robe, followed by peasants storming with torches. Felix gives a typically feisty performance as this victimized heroine.