Framing Latin American Cinema: Contemporary Critical Perspectives

Most studies of Latin American cinema focus on the political content of films from the region, often emphasizing an approach that reduces Latin American films to illustrations of the type of cultural studies dominant in the US and Europe. Resisting this tendency, this text provides a fresh approach by embracing multiple modes of scholarship and juxtaposing feature films and documentaries. Considering works from Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Colombia, Guatamala, Mexico, and Venezuela, the contributors address a range of topics including spectatorship, the films of Roman Chalbaud, Mexican melodrama, revolutionary documentaries, the films "Dona Herlinda" and "Un lugar en el mundo", a documentary film on Nobel Peace Prize winner Rigoberta Menchu, and viewers' and critics' responses to films and filmmakers reaction to this criticism. This guide to film in the region, bridges the gap between film theory and criticism and creates a necessary dialogue between northern and southern critics.