19/07/2024 - 55 years on from the moon landings, this candid period comedy by José Luis Yánez López and Cecilia “Techus” Guerrero reminds us just how important it is to keep a secret for good intentions

Fifty-five years ago, on 21 July 1969, astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin Buzz Aldrin set foot on the moon’s surface and were the first to open up new horizons to the whole of humankind. Over time, a shadow fell across this momentous event: a strange conspiracy theory claiming that the two Americans never actually landed on our old satellite. And a similarly strange theory is put forth by the movie Un mexicano en la luna, released in Italian cinemas on 19 July, on the 55th anniversary of the landings, by No.Mad Entertainment. The film is co-directed by José Luis Yánez López and Cecilia “Techus” Guerrero, and was shot in the state of Colima following the untimely death of Francis Levy Lavalle who was originally intended to direct the work. Having passed away just weeks before filming commenced, Lavalle wrote the screenplay based on Manuel Sánchez de la Madrid’s novel of the same name, which was itself based on a real event which took place in Colima.

The movie is set in western Mexico in July 1969. Simón (Hector Jimenez) is a journalist from Colima who spends his days writing sensationalist stories for the local paper and his evenings waiting on tables in his wife Mari’s restaurant. Considered a little naive by everyone around him, Simón is fighting his rival, Pepe de la P, for the position of columnist in a prestigious newspaper which has invited him to submit an article demonstrating his talent. During an evening meal, Simón randomly hears a story which could bring him the success he’s always dreamed of: Neil Armstrong, the man who first set foot on the moon, is actually a Mexican man who lives in Llano Grande. Simón believes there could be some truth to this absurd rumour, so he and his partner in crime Carlo (Alessio Lapice) set off for this town in southern Jalisco with a view to uncovering the truth.

In Llano Grande, they’re met with an impenetrable wall of silence, constructed by the authoritarian parish priest, Father Raymondo (Roberto Ballesteros), and the conceited mayor, Presiado (Ausencio Cruz), with the help of the entire population. The journalist is forbidden from approaching a blond, elderly lady called Juanita, whose son known only as El Güero migrated to California a long time ago as a labourer and might be at the heart of this mystery. Simón moves closer and closer to an answer, zigzagging between unexpected twists, misunderstandings and ambiguities.  

Both a farcical comedy and a family film, Un mexicano en la luna mostly owes its entertainment value to the performance of its protagonist, Hector Jimenez. It’s clearly a low budget film, shot in the back of beyond (and in costumes), and the effort made to tell a universal story in production terms is commendable. Sadly, there isn’t really sufficient fuel to send it properly into orbit, but this probably wasn’t the intention with this adorable, candid comedy, which takes a politely mocking look at journalism (sensationalism has worsened somewhat over the past 50 years) and which speaks to us about ethics, maternal and filial love, and an entire town which comes together to keep a secret for good reason. From 1969 to the present day, the migration of Mexicans to the USA has turned into a silent battle against deserts, walls, barbed wire and border patrols… An even bigger dream than reaching the moon.

Un mexicano en la luna is an international co-production between Mexico’s Ozcar Ramírez González of Arte Mecánica - one of the Central American country’s most active independent film development and production companies - and Italy’s Emanuele Nespeca of Solaria Film.

(Translated from Italian)