
Río Escondido. 1947. Mexico. Directed by Emilio Fernández. Screenplay by Mauricio Magdaleno, based on a story by Emilio Fernández. Cinematography by Gabriel Figueroa. With María Félix, Domingo Soler, Carlos López Moctezuma. 35mm. In Spanish; English subtitles. 99 min.
After a symbolic prologue that links her to Diego Rivera’s murals of Mexican history, an idealistic young schoolteacher (María Félix) answers the call of Mexican president Miguel Alemán to bring enlightenment to remote rural districts. But in the desert town of Río Escondido, she finds implacable opposition in the arrogant figure of the local jefe (swaggering Carlos López Moctezuma), who believes a woman’s place is in the home—specifically, his home.