Guest
Left unfinished by Eisenstein, the film (originally to be titled: Que viva Mexico and produced in 1938)) was highly structured, and was to consist of four “novellas“ or “scenarios“ plus a prologue and epilogue. The precise order and content of these episodes was constantly changing, but the overall film would trace the history of Mexico from precolonial times through Spanish conquest to contemporary times. Each episode has its own distinct style, is dedicated to a different Mexican artist, and also bases itself on some primal element (stone, water, iron, fire, air). The soundtrack in each case features a different Mexican folk song. A very rare film, this is not a re-working by another filmmaker, but the original film itself.
