¡Que viva México!

¡Que viva México! – Eisenstein's favourite project, possibly his masterpiece. In fact, a film conceived by him, partly shot, but never edited. A glimpse of what might have been, which Eisenstein outlined in philosophical terms as follows: "Great Mexican wisdom about death. Its unity with life. The passing of one, the birth of the next. The eternal circle. And the even greater wisdom: Mexico's joy in this circle." Bewitching, disturbing images. Mayan profiles like a frieze above the face of the dead man in the open coffin. Monks in black robes behind the foreground of a white trinity of skulls. Girls like butterflies made of snow. Half-naked and bent over, the peons prepared for execution; behind and above them, a sky full of cloud mountains. Finally, the ritual of Calavera, the festival of death, a sea of skeletons, of cardboard skulls. Beyond its timelessness, ¡Que viva México! is an extremely temporal (and Zapatista) film. The interpretation of its title could also mean: Long live the revolution! (H.T.)