Canoa: A Shameful Memory
Canoa: memoria de un hecho vergonzoso
Mexico • 1976
Director
#862Criterion Collection →Synopsis
One of Mexico's most highly regarded works of political cinema, CANOA: A SHAMEFUL MEMORY reimagines a real-life incident that had occurred just eight years before its release, when a group of urban university employees on a hiking trip were viciously attacked by residents of the village of San Miguel Canoa who had been manipulated by a corrupt priest into believing the travelers were communist revolutionaries. Director Felipe Cazals adopts a gritty documentary style to narrate the events in CANOA while referencing the climate of political repression that would lead to the massacre of student protesters in Mexico City shortly thereafter. The resulting film is a daring commentary on ideological manipulation, religious fanaticism, and mass violence, as well as a visceral expression of horror.
Synopsis
One of Mexico's most highly regarded works of political cinema, CANOA: A SHAMEFUL MEMORY reimagines a real-life incident that had occurred just eight years before its release, when a group of urban university employees on a hiking trip were viciously attacked by residents of the village of San Miguel Canoa who had been manipulated by a corrupt priest into believing the travelers were communist revolutionaries. Director Felipe Cazals adopts a gritty documentary style to narrate the events in CANOA while referencing the climate of political repression that would lead to the massacre of student protesters in Mexico City shortly thereafter. The resulting film is a daring commentary on ideological manipulation, religious fanaticism, and mass violence, as well as a visceral expression of horror.
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Credits
Crew
DirectorFelipe Cazals
WriterTomás Pérez Turrent
CinematographerÁlex Phillips Jr.
EditorRafael Ceballos
ProducerRoberto Lozoya
Cast
Salvador Sánchezas Witness
Ernesto Gómez Cruzas Lucas
Enrique Luceroas Cura
Arturo Alegroas Ramón
Roberto Sosa Sr.as Julián