Lately we see so many films almost mass-produced, the same topics, the same actors, green screen effects, that it no longer surprises anyone and filled with clichés that repeat non-stop, so it happens that from the start we know what the end will be.
And then come films that surprise us and renew our faith in films. This happens with Guillermo del Toro’s Pinocchio, a film that, in spite of being based on a classic story, it is totally different, new and absolutely universal.
Created in frame-by-frame animation, it can be appreciated as a film for children, but as Guillermo himself has said, it goes beyond that, teaching lessons to young and old on topics as deep as war, family and the meaning of life. In this sense, it could be said that it is not a children’s movie if you don’t want them to become people capable of thinking, questioning and able to challenge the authorities with reason on their side.
Also, the overview of the film industry in Mexico is very disheartening, something that Guillermo del Toro himself knows perfectly well and has spoken about it, since the Mexican government is no longer interested in supplying resources or promoting films produced in the country.
Perhaps this is why it seems that we only produce the cheapest and most commercial films since this is all that is promoted in the main movie theatres, while the good quality films that are made here are not given the space. Let’s not forget that this happened with Pinocchio, a disagreement with the distributor pushed it out of the two largest film theatre companies of Mexico, while much smaller film houses bet on it and showed it in their locations.
Guillermo del Toro’s films, as well as Alfonso Cuarón’s films and many other Mexican creators that have international quality, are prominent and acknowledged in the most important festivals, but bureaucracy in Mexico does not turn around to see them.
Speaking of Cuarón, his son Olmo Cuarón is also showing the skills to become a great filmmaker in upcoming years. He is currently only 17 years old, but he has already been showing that he is greatly talented and, in the future, will train professionally to work in animation, since this is the area that he likes the most and has done his first works.
There is talent, there are creators and there is material to work with, and on top of it all, we are fortunate to have outstanding personalities such as Guillermo del Toro who bets over and over again in the work carried out in Mexico.
Hopefully, in years to come, we will be able to see work as outstanding as Pinocchio, but by the hand of young talent as Olmo Cuarón and especially that are following the steps of the great directors of today.
