Director Arturo Ripstein often focuses on dark, dismal subjects, as viewers will see during the Arturo Ripstein Retrospective presented as part of the Mexican Film Series. First up is Castle of Purity (El Castillo de la pureza), a surreal film based on the true story of a Mexico City man who kept his family locked in their home for almost two decades. Driven by his own sexual desires, he hoped to keep them from the evils of the outside world; instead he created a new, more deadly evil than anything they could have faced, isolation.
There is also Deep Crimson (Profundo carmesi), the chronicle of a man who, after years of manipulating and victimizing women, finds himself being controlled by his female accomplice. Beginning and End (Principio y fin) and Crazy Carnival (El Carnival de Sodoma) are also on the schedule. After the Ripstein retrospective, the Mexican Film Series continues with works by directors Jorge Perez Solano, Fernando Kalife and Roberto Girault.
Arturo Ripstein leads a Q&A session at 6:30 p.m. Friday, followed by a screening of Castle of Purity (El castillo de la pureza). Rice Media Center, 6100 Main. For a full schedule, call 713-348-4882 or visit www.ricecinema.rice.edu. Free.
Sept. 9-11, 2011
This article appears in Sep 8-14, 2011.