10 · 24 · 15

Screening of Dos Monjes by Juan Bustillo Oro at the 13th FICM

Jaime Garba, reportero (@jaimegarba)

Dos monjes (1934) by Mexican director Juan Bustillo Oro was screened at the 13th FICM as part of the Mexican Gothic Film Program, in collaboration with the Cineteca Nacional, the UNAM film archive and Fundación Televisa. The event took place at the Cinépolis Morelia Centro.

The film tells the story of two monks who get into a fight. They each tell a different version of the conflict, whose only common element is the woman with whom both had fallen in love.

Bustillo Oro debuted with the silent film Yo soy tu padre (1927), and in 1937 with Jesús Grovas he founded the production company Oro Grovas, where he made many of his successful works, including Ahí está el detalle(1940) and México de mis recuerdos (1943). He received an Ariel Award in 1980 for his work as a producer, director and screenwriter, and in 1985 the Salvador Toscano Medal for lifetime achievement.

The screening was presented by Guadalupe Ferrer, director of the UNAM film archive, who said:

Guadalupe Ferrer on the Mexican Gothic Film Program:
“This work is part of a concept we call ‘almost gothic.’ We struggled to define its structure, since it is a complex project which is coordinated by the Cineteca Nacional and the UNAM film archive and FICM and has had very good results, since it has made visible a cinema that represents our history and our identity.”

Guadalupe Ferrer on Dos Monjes:
“This is Bustillo Oro’s second film. He was 30 years old when he made it. Subsequently, he made 68 films and they had little to do with Dos Monjes, which gives it a very different profile and becomes the object of analysis. This film is a proposal that seeks to achieve the subjectivity of the characters. It does not look for main ideas within the film, it leaves the viewer to build them through what is done with the scenery and lighting.”

Guadalupe Ferrer on the critics’ response to Dos monjes:
“When André Bretón came to Mexico and saw the film he was delighted. He took it to France, where it was recognized by French critics, who said that he had managed to push the boundaries of subjective expression of his characters. On the other hand, Mexican critics had very divided opinions. Some said that being extravagant was not necessarily original and others said it was a new way of involving the viewer.”

The unconventional narrative and aesthetic approach of Dos monjes make it one of the most representative works of the genre called fantasy drama, which earned Juan Bustillo Oro the inclusion in the catalog of great Mexican directors of the 20 century. In the voice of the creator, this film was conceived to be endowed with an unreal and expressionist climate, which revealed the profound influence the German filmmakers had over him.

The film was made by Producciones Proa and stars Víctor Urruchúa, Carlos Villatoro and Magda Haller. The music was provided by Manuel M. Ponce.