SKELETON OF MRS. MORALES
Skeleton of Mrs. Morales: a black comedy from Mexico
Film critic and founder of the Avignon Film Festival Jean-Pierre Garcia specialises in Mexican film, and talks us through Skeleton of Mrs. Morales by Rogelio González screened at Cannes Classics in a restored version.
Do you feel this film is one of Mexico’s 100 all-time greats?
Paradoxically enough, it was late to receive the recognition it deserves. Already back in the fifties, we had some excellent film noirs, such as The Kneeling Goddess (1947) and In the Palm of Your Hand (1951) by Roberto Gavaldόn. But what makes this film special is that it owes a lot to its screenwriter and the qualities of director Rogelio González, who also collaborated on the writing. The script was written by Luis Alcoriza, who contributed widely to Buñuel‘s Mexican works, such as the The Young and the Damned (1950) and The Exterminating Angel (1962). Alcoriza’s style lends the film something that instantly hits you as surrealist, leading you into the depths of deepest, darkest comedy, as we say in Mexico. To me, it’s one of the 15 best Mexican films of all time.
Who was Rogelio González?
A seasoned director focused on mainstream Mexican films, fairly light comedies with catchy songs, music… He was an experienced film-maker who had lived in Mexico, Argentina, and even the United States. He’s a figurehead of the golden age of Mexican film, a period that stretched from the second half of the forties to the fifties at a time when the industry was booming. This was a film-maker who truly mastered the art of compelling cinema, surrounding himself with excellent technicians in both photography and set design, and one who used chiaroscuro to stunning effect.
What Mexican conventions shine through in this film?
Firstly, the title itself: Skeleton of Mrs. Morales. It doesn’t quite tell us the whole story, but it comes close. There’s something innately Mexican about it: as we all know, Mexican culture has a close connection to death. This continuous urge to defy death melds with Buñuel and Alcoriza’s brand of surrealism and is perfectly suited to this film inspired by a story from English author Arthur Machen. It’s a film that experiments with the realities of Mexican society at the time, and serves up a critique of the middle classes and their tendency towards follies and bigotry.
What about the actors?
Arturo De Cόrdova and Amparo Rivelles play the protagonists, a couple forever striving to push boundaries. Mexican star Arturo De Cόrdova, who had taken to the screen in films by Gavaldόn, is pitch-perfect as Pablo, the taxidermist husband. He exudes a permanent sense of half measures and coolness, while his wife is forever needling him. The impression is of a man frustrated by his wife’s sexual rejection and by not being able to eat the food he loves. He was cast alongside Amparo Rivelles, a Mexican actress who started out in Spain on stage and in films. At the time, she was relatively young but playing a beautiful forty-something with a cruel, manipulative streak. Both actors are perfect in their sense of physical restraint.
