EL IMPERIO DE LA FORTUNA

Arturo Ripstein

Arturo Ripstein Rosen was born in the Federal District of Mexico on December 13, 1943. Since his father was the celebrated film producer Alfredo Ripstein, jr, he was able to spend his childhood and adolescence close to a film environment. He studied law at the University of Mexico (UNAM), history at the Colegio de Mexico, and art history at the Iberoamericana University. In 1960 he attended the course entitled "Fifty Lessons on the Cinema" taught at UNAM. This was before the University Film Studies Center (CUEC) was recognized as the first official film school in Mexico.
In 1962 he worked unofficially as an assistant to Luis Buñuel during the shooting of The Exterminating Angel and Simón del desierto. He played roles as an extra in various films between 1960 and 1966 (El hombre de la ametralladora, Jóvenes y bellas, Dile que la quiéro, Los novios de mis hijas, En este pueblo no hay ladrones, El Camino de los espantos, La muerte es puntual, Los caifanes, etc.). When he was twenty five in 1965, he made his directing debut with Tiempo de morir (Time to Die), an unusual "Sophoclean" western based on a screenplay written by the novelists Gabriel García Márquez and Carlos Fuentes. He moved in the direction of a more experimental type of cinema in forming the group, Cine Independiente de México, along with Felipe Cazals and Rafael Castanedo. From that moment on, his career became one of the most meaningful and important for Mexican film of the last few decades, earning him numerous awards and wide recognition.
Although some of his films had been released both in Spain and in France - probably only in alternative film circuits - his real time of recognition came in the 1990's, thanks to the principal international film festivals. In 1991, his La mujer del puerto (The Woman of the Port) was presented in the section Un certain regard, at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1993 his Principio y fin (The Beginning and the End) won the Concha de oro award at the San Sebastian Film Festival. In 1994 his La reina de la noche (Queen of the Night) competed at the Cannes Film Festival. In 1996, his Profundo carmesí (Deep Crimson) was screen at the Venice Film Festival, where it won many awards, including the award for the best screenplay, written by his wife, Paz Alicia Garcíadiego.
His most recent films have been made as international co-produclions shared by Mexico, Spain, and France. The same production houses are engaged in the making of his next film La nueva Jerusalem (The New Jerusalem), slated to be released in 1998 and centered on the theme of millenarianism.
A listing of his works cannot fail to include his industrial films as well as his independent short, middle-length, and feature films - both documentary and fiction. He also collaborated as unofficial assistant director in the documentary QRR (Quien resulte responsable) (1970) and was likely to have made several incursions into the direction some soap-operas, such as Aprendamos juntos, Dolce desafio, and La sonrisa del diablo. He directed stage plays such as El beso de la mujer araña and La visita de la bestia) as well as various series of cultural programs for television. He also taught at the Centro de Capacitación Cinematográfica.

FILMOGRAFIA

Tiempo de morir [Time to Die / Tempo di morire, 1965], HO (ep. di Juego peligroso [Dangerous game / Gioco pericoloso, 1966], Los recuerdos del porvenir [Memories of the future / t.l. I ricordi del futuro, 1968], La hora de los niños [Children's Hour / t.l. L'ora dei bambini, 1969], Salón independiente [Independent Salon / Salone indipendente, 1969], Crimen [Crime / Crimine, 1970], La belleza (The Beauty / t.l. La bellezza, 1970), Exorcismos (Exorcisms / t.l. Esorcismi, 1970), Autobiografia [Autobiography / Autobiografia, 1971], El náufrago de la calle de la Providencia (The Castaway of Providence Street / t.l. Il naufrago della strada della Provvidenza, 1971), El castillo de la pureza (The Castle of Purity / t.l. Il castello della purezza, 1972), El Santo Oficio (The Holy Office / t.l. L'Inquisizione, 1973), Los otros niños [T he Other Children / Gli altri bambini, 1974], Tiempo de correr [Time to Run / Tempo di correre, 1974], Foxtrot (The Far Side of Paradise / Foxtrot, 1975), Lecumberri / El palacio negro [Lecumberri - The Black Building / Lecumberri - Il palazzo nero, 1976], El borracho [The Drunk / L'ubriaco, 1976], La causa [The Lawsuit / La causa, 1976], El lugar sin límites (A Limitless Place / t.l. Il luogo senza confini, 1977), La viuda negra [The Black Widow / La vedova nera, 1977], Cadena perpetua (Vicious Circle / t.l. Catena perpetua, 1978), La tía Alejandra [Aunt Alexandra / La zia Alejandra, 1978], La ilegal (The Illegal / La illegale, 1979), La seduction (The Seduction / t.l. La seduzione, 1980), Rastro de muerte [Trace of Death / Traccia di morte, 1981], El otro (The other / t.l. L'altro, 1984), Mentiras piadosas (White Lies / t.l. Pietose menzogne, 1988), El imperio de la fortuna (The Realm of Fortune / t.l. L'impero della fortuna, 1991), La mujer del puerto (The Woman of the Port / t.l. La donna del porto, 1991), Principio y fin (The Beinning and the End / t.l. Inizio e fine, 1993), La reina de la noche (The Queen of the Night / t.l. La regina della notte, 1994), Profundo carmesí (Deep Crinsom / id., 1996), Hombre con guitarra (Man with a Guitar / Uomo con chitarra, 1997).