As a diehard fan of 1970s cinema, I was excited to see which films made Indiewire’s recent 100 Best Films of the 70s list and more than a little pleasantly surprised to discover that the list, unlike so many previous ones, makes a good amount of space for films outside the traditional cannon of American New Wave and European classics.
Here are three films from further afield that pay testament to the new freedoms of expression, political courage and turbulent whirlwind creativity of the 70s in unique and memorable ways, through the eyes of societies outside the traditional cultural centre. From Mexico to Senegal and Brazil, these three righteously angry, caustic and often bitterly biting films speak truth to power and remind us of how much the warnings they offered have still yet to be heard.
THE ARTHOUSE ESSENTIAL
Canoa: A Shameful Memory — YouTube
1968 was a watershed year for political protest, from the campuses of the US to the streets of Paris and in Mexico, where director Felipe Cazals’ seminal 1976 film takes place. Inspired by the true story of a group of employees from the University of Puebla who were lynched by an angry mob in San Miguel Canoa, the film paints a hard-hitting and disturbing portrait of mass hysteria that’s all still too relevant half-a-century later.
The film takes a creepy approach to its critique of the corruption and venality of the townspeople rather than a social realist documentary retelling of the events. Its villainous Catholic priest, who brainwashes his congregation into a fury of xenophobic hatred and religious zealotism by playing on their fear and disseminating fake news, serves as urgent a warning now as it did then.
Two weeks after the events in Canoa, hundreds of students were massacred by the Mexican army in protests in Tlatelolco as the country’s president tyrannically attempted to regain control ahead of the opening of the 1968 Olympic Games.
Though it played for a year-and-a-half in Mexican cinemas after its release in 1976, Cazal’s classic and influential film remained mostly unseen for 30 years until the stars of Mexico’s new wave like Guillermo Del Torro and Alfonso Cuarón hailed it as a key influence on their work, leading to its release on DVD by the Criterion Channel.
THE STONE-COLD CLASSIC
Ceddo — YouTube
Pioneering African cinema legend Ousmane Sembene’s 1977 drama was banned by Senegalese authorities for daring to depict pre-French-colonial life in the country as less than harmonious.
Set in the 18th century the film takes place after the arrival of Europeans but before the imposition of French rule as its titular characters, the ceddo (outsiders), are facing a battle to preserve their ways of life and beliefs against the encroaching threats of Islam, Christianity and the slave trade.
When a local king throws his lot in with the Muslims, the ceddo kidnap his daughter in retaliation against an order that will force them to convert. A bitter battle between Muslims, Christians and slave traders is inevitable. Framed mostly around a series of heated debates, the film serves as Sembene’s visual demonstration of his belief that, “Africans must get beyond the question of colour, they must recognise the problems which confront the whole world, as human beings like other human beings. If others undervalue us, that has no further significance for us. Africa must get beyond deriving everything from the European view. Africa must consider itself, recognise its problems and attempt to resolve them.”
The Senegalese government banned the film, not on official grounds of objection to its message but rather for the far pettier and more ludicrous reason that Sembene had chosen to spell “ceddo” with two ds, in contravention of the government’s orders that it be spelt with only one.
THE DIAMOND IN THE ROUGH
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman — YouTube
Brazilian new wave director Nelson Pereira dos Santos’ 1971 black comedy satire enjoys not only a great title but also cult status as one of the sharpest takedowns of colonial ignorance and arrogance.
Set in 16th century Brazil and shot predominantly in the native language of Tupi, the film tells the story of a hapless Frenchman who finds himself amid battles between the French and Portuguese to claim Brazil for their empires. After being captured by the Portuguese, the unnamed Frenchman is then taken prisoner by the native Tupinambás who, though they are allied to the French, aren’t convinced that their prisoner is who he says he is and believe him to be Portuguese, their sworn enemies and who they generally serve up as a meal to satisfy their cannibal cravings.
A farcical comedy ensues as the Frenchman does his damnedest to prove that he is who he claims to be and gradually finds himself being accepted into the tribe’s customs and traditions, even taking a local wife and shedding his western clothes. When another European arrives and throws the fate of the Frenchman back in doubt, his life once again hangs in the balance.
