by Mateo Biggs
As we all know, Halloween comes up within the next week– the Monday of the 31st is bound to be full of ghoulish fun and terrifying jumps of adrenaline –however, instead of the customary announcement of new horror games or scary movies that will be dominating the market and the theater, I decided to take the time to bring up a holiday that comes after Halloween itself.
As of November 2nd, Dia de los Muertos– known as day of the dead in english –will be celebrated by many members of the latinx community, myself included, so I decided to bring up some movies for the holiday spirit.
A well known film that was a great representation on the day of the dead would be the 2017 animated Disney Pixar film “Coco”– if you haven’t seen it before now, I would highly recommend it. A story about a young boy named Miguel who dreams of playing music despite his family’s wishes against it, he travels to the land of the dead and must gain the help of his ancestors in order to make it back home before sunrise. A warm and comforting movie with vibrant colors and lively music, it is definitely a film that gets one in the mood for remembering our loved ones– especially with a score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes and taking “Best Original Song” from the 2018 Golden Globes.
Another film recommended would be 1960 Mexican film “Macario”. Although it is way older than “Coco”, the movie deals with the importance of life and acceptance of death through the eyes of poor peasant Macario as he holds the treasured dinner made by his wife from the hands of God, the Devil, and then Death himself. Featuring the skills of Ignacio López Tarso, José Luis Jiménez, and many others, “Macario” received a score of 100% and an audience rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes. A story of accepting mortality and the importance of morals, “Macario” is definitely a film to cement the idea of life and death and a film that is both still following the spooky haunts of halloween while bringing to life a Mexican folktale just in time for day of the dead as well.
For the final film on these lists– while it doesn’t take place on the day of the dead itself –is “The Book of Life” from 2014, another animated film this time from the brain of Guillermo del Toro and 20th Century Fox and featuring the voices of Zoe Saldana, Diego Luna, and Channing Tatum. While the story doesn’t match up to the beautiful animation that goes beyond, it is still rated 83% with an audience score of 77% and worth watching as Manolo(Diego Luna) marches to the land of the dead for the love of his life.
