
Enamorada (In Love). 1946. Mexico. Directed by Emilio Fernández. Screenplay by Emilio Fernández, Íñigo de Martino. With María Félix, Pedro Armendáriz, Fernando Fernández. In Spanish; English subtitles. DCP courtesy of Filmoteca UNAM. 95 min.
Emilio “El Indio” Fernández’s first collaboration with Félix stands as one of the most beloved works of Mexican Golden Age of cinema. Loosely inspired by Shakespeare’s The Taming of the Shrew, it follows the relationship between Beatriz Peñafiel (Félix), the aristocratic daughter of a wealthy family in Cholula, and José Juan Reyes (Pedro Armendáriz), a revolutionary general who disrupts her privileged existence. Félix’s performance ranges from haughty resistance to passionate engagement, and Gabriel Figueroa’s cinematography finds visual touches that celebrate Mexican national identity while achieving a broader artistic appeal. The film competed for the Palme d’Or at the 1947 Cannes Film Festival and won multiple Ariel Awards.