Paul Leduc Reads Rubem Fonseca: The Globalization of Violence or The Violence of Globalization

Abstract

The only contemporary Mexican filmmaker who features prominently in Cinema de Lágrimas is Paul Leduc (1942). In 2006 Leduc would reciprocate Nelson Pereira dos Santos and make a “Brazilian” movie: an adaptation of a series of short stories by Rubem Fonseca called El Cobrador—In God We Trust. The appearance of the name Leduc in Cinema de Lágrimas is not accidental nor a whimsical choice on the part of Nelson Pereira dos Santos. The initial strategy in this chapter is parallel to the one I used in the previous chapter: we shall go through three important films by Leduc to understand El Cobrador within the context of Leduc’s works and particular interests. Paul Leduc is the director of three hallmarks of post-Golden Age Mexican cinema: Reed: Mexico Insurgente (1971), Frida, Naturaleza Viva (1984), and ¿Como Ves? (1986).