Macario

"Macabre, haunting and wonderful"

1960 1h 31m ES

🤯

8.7

MASTERPIECE

★8.7TMDB · 224

DramaFantasy

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Poor, hungry peasant Macario longs for just one good meal on the Day of the Dead. After his wife cooks a turkey for him, he meets three apparitions, the Devil, God, and Death. Each asks him to share his turkey, but he refuses all except Death. In return, Death gives him a bottle of water which will heal any illness. Soon, Macario is more wealthy than the village doctor, which draws the attention of the feared Inquisition.

“Macabre, haunting and wonderful”

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Cast

Ignacio López Tarso
Macario
Pina Pellicer
Esposa de Macario
Enrique Lucero
La muerte
Mario Alberto Rodríguez
Don Ramiro
José Gálvez
El Demonio
Eduardo Fajardo
Virrey
Consuelo Frank
Virreina
José Dupeyrón

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Roberto Gavaldón
Writers: Roberto Gavaldón, Emilio Carballido, B. Traven
Languages: Spanish
Countries: Mexico

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 7

ERA

Did you know

66 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Roberto Gavaldón, shot by Gabriel Figueroa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Raúl Lavista. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 7

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Gloria Schoemann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 7

CAST

Did you know

Ignacio López Tarso and Pina Pellicer and Enrique Lucero carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 7

AWARDS

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Macabre, haunting and wonderful".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 7

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0054042 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Roberto Gavaldón directs. Gabriel Figueroa behind the camera. Raúl Lavista scores. Gloria Schoemann cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in Mexico. Dialogue in Spanish.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

166 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
2Directed by Roberto Gavaldón, shot by Gabriel Figueroa. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
3Original score by Raúl Lavista. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
4Editor Gloria Schoemann shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Ignacio López Tarso and Pina Pellicer and Enrique Lucero carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Macabre, haunting and wonderful".
7IMDB entry: tt0054042 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Classified under 13 themes, including "mexico", "based on novel or book", "inquisition", "hunger".

The technical file

Cinematography: Gabriel Figueroa
Original score: Raúl Lavista
Editing: Gloria Schoemann
Makeup / hair: Armando Meyer
Runtime: 91 min · 1h 31m
Status: Released
Original language: ES
IMDB: Macario (1960)

Also by

Roberto Gavaldón

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2023-10-19
★ 7/10
Ignacio López Tarso is super in this superior adaptation of the Traven story "The Third Guest". He and his wife (Pina Pellicer) are living an all but hand-to-mouth existence with their young family - who reminded me frequently of baby birds in a nest constantly looking to be fed. He collects and sells firewood to the local bakery, she takes in laundry and does mending work. It's whilst he is delivering his wood that he sees half a dozen plump turkeys being roasted in the bakery ovens for a local grandee. The smell and the sight of these sizzling birds leads him to vow that he will not eat again until he can devour an whole bird - all by himself! For days he declines his food, but a slight contretemps between his wife and one of her clients might just provide for his deliverance... Heading into the forest with his unexpected fayre he encounters three individuals who offer him varying degrees of "riches" if he will share. He shows wisdom until an emaciated character tugs too hard on his heart strings. His reward is a gourde of water from the spring of life. One drop of this will stave off death from even the most terminally ill - well it will, most of the time! He uses his newfound power sparingly at first, but soon he garners fame and fortune and the attention of the Holy Inquisition. Having survived his perilous trip through the forest, can he now survive the suspicions of his own race? There is a very basic, but hugely effective, visual effect that allows us to follow his journey with his newly arrived friend (Enrique Lucero) and the direction from Roberto Galvadón allows us to begin to appreciate, slowly, quite what choice the eponymous character has, perhaps unwittingly - perhaps not - chosen for himself. The score complements well, as does the general aesthetic of this film and I really did enjoy the mix of the fantasy, sacrifice and the social comment. It looks great on a big screen, but is well worth a watch on any screen.

Production companies