Eisenstein in Guanajuato

﹝narrator﹞In 1931 , the Russian film director Sergei Eisenstein

traveled to Mexico to make a film.

It was tentativeIy to be called Que Viva Mexico.

Eisenstein had a worldwide fame

based on the reputation of onIy three films,

all made in Soviet Russia.

Strike,a violent tale of civilian unrest

viciousIy crushed by authority,

The Battleship Potemkin, a violent account

of a naval mutiny over rotten meat.

and October, a violent ceIebration

of the Russian Revolution.

﹝gIass shattering﹞

In the West. the fiIm Qctober.

was called Ten Days That Shook The World.

This present film might be called

Ten Days That Shook Eisenstein.

﹝fIy buzzing﹞

﹝cIassical music﹞

﹝fIy buzzing﹞

I arrive accompanied by flies.

They have been with me ever since

I crossed the Mexican border.

I brought them with me from Moscow.

﹝fly buzzing﹞

I recognize them.

They are Soviet flies,

spy flies-- Russian accents,

a growIing, gruff, ill-mannered buzz.

They have bloodshot eyes, Iike me.

Do I have bIoodshot eyes? Do I have bIoodshot eyes?

Do I have bIoodshot eyes? Do I have bIoodshot eyes?

Of too much looking. Too much--

too much looking.

Diego. - Sergei, my friend!

You're weIcome. - Grazie.

- Frida. - Sergei.

Bienvenido. - Encantado.

- Jorge PaI0mino Cañedo. Your Guanajuato guide.

Sergei Eisenstein.

Sometimes a Russian film director

or Russian fiIm director retired.

Ah. This is Aleksandrov.

Always an actor.

- Frida. - Grisha.

- And this is Eduard Tisse. cameraman.

The cameraman.

- Frida. - Tisse.

PIease take the suitcases.

WeIcome, Iadies and gentIemen.

Hey, Iook.

﹝ominous music﹞

﹝whistIing﹞

﹝orchestra pIaying﹞

﹝exhaIes sharpIy﹞

Put aII the red books over there.

AII the books with the bIue markers over there.

All EngIish books by the bed.

AII American books under the bed.

﹝speaking Spanish﹞

﹝squeaking﹞

- Can I heIp? - There is a trick, isn t there?

What am I doing wrong?

I expect nothing.

- We don't have showers in Moscow.

In fact, we don t have showers in Russia.

Baths. Turkish baths. .

And wash basins.

Sometimes we have running water. Sometimes we have water.

Sometimes we have just the empty taps.

Sometimes we have to break the ice in the tank.

Often...

we don t wash.

- ﹝Iaughing﹞ - What are you laughing about?

- A Russian body. Very white.

- We rareIy see the Sun in Moscow,

and we never undress in public.

- Then I can't be public. - Public enough.

That s his.

And a very well-fed body.

Pea-soup, pickled cabbage,

salty bacon, sour miIk, turnips?

When we can get it.

See you at breakfast?

Tortillas, tamales, chicken burritos,

chimichangas, sopecitos, huarachitos, pan de muerto...

Hey! Warm water?

Being naked in public?

Or a response to an amiabIe young man?

Signor Prick, behave!

He's handsome. it's true. ﹝chuckles﹞

And he's seen you, it's true.

But you are a foreigner with a Russian passport,

a limited visitor's visa.

and very littIe sexuaI experience.

You would be woefully disadvantaged.

Besides, you are here to make a film with me,

and I need your frustrations t0 feed my imagination.

No dissipation.

It leads t0 a dilution of energy.

﹝exhaling rapidly﹞

I am a boxer

for the freedom of cinematic expression.

I have never had my shoes shined for me.

We don't do those sorts of things

anymore in Soviet Russia.

You're in México.

Why don't you try it?

- ﹝speaking Spanish﹞ - Si

﹝exhales deeply﹞

﹝chuckles﹞

I'm behaving like a colonial grandee.

Shining shoes is tantamount to kissing feet.

Who kisses feet any more?

Do I tip him heaviIy to cover up my bourgeois guilt?

No.

If you tip him, news of your generosity

will be around the town in five minutes.

And your shoes will never be yours again.

They will be a host to fortune.

You have come here for something other than shiny shoes.

What are you looking for?

- I came to Mexico to make a movie.

I came to Mexico

because my very first theatre production in Moscow

was called The Mexican.

I came to Mexico because you had a successful revolution

five years before we did.

I came to Guanajuato

because you have here a Museum of The Dead.

Maybe I have to make a film called Museum of The Living.

Those are my excuses. What are your excuses?

- I live here. I have a family here.

I teach in Mexico City, and I teach here.

And what do you teach?

- I studied as an anthropologist.

And now I teach comparative religion.

- This is a Roman Catholic country.

How come you are allowed to talk about other religions?

﹝sighs﹞

Roman Catholicism of México is generous and all-embracing.

Pantheistic.

A bit of everything. old and new.

They just take what they need.

So much so. we shouId call it. Mexican Catholicism.

They customized it.

We have pre-Columbian equivaIents

for everything the Roman Catholics dreamed up.

Certainly, we invented blood sacrifices before you did.

Christianity adopted us. We did not adopt Christianity.

﹝bell tolling﹞

It s Gideon. His name is Gideon.

He was born blind.

And the bells have made him deaf.

There is a probIem.

They have been searching through y0ur books

and found pornography.

Are you a pornographer?

- I didn't think so up till now.

- One 0f the hoteI maids arranging your books

has taken some photographs, but she is underage.

Her mother found the photographs and complained to the hoteI.

I am sure it can be sorted out.

Stay in sight of your bodyguards.

﹝bells tolling﹞

﹝upbeat music﹞

﹝children laughing﹞

﹝goats bIeating﹞

It's okay, boys.

﹝dog barking﹞

- ﹝echoing﹞ Sergei!

﹝echoing﹞ Sergei!

﹝echoing﹞ México!

﹝echoing﹞ México!

﹝echoing﹞ Guanajuato!

﹝retching﹞

﹝v0miting﹞

﹝retching﹞

Vomit and shit pour out of you in floods.

I should not be here.

I shouId be back in Russia, being constipated.

In Moscow, you can go for a week without shitting once.

﹝coughing﹞

- Sergei? It s me. It's me--Cañedo. It's me.

Ugh.

- Come on. Let's go, Iet's go.

It s just me--Cañedo. Hey, it's okay. Shh.

Come on. - Ugh.

﹝grunts﹞

- Stop it, stop it, stop it. - ﹝coughing﹞

﹝humming﹞

- Close your eyes, close your eyes.

You know...

You know. I sat like the Tsar .

on the throne of the Winter Palace.

But the Tsar did not have running water.

You Mexicans don't have tsars,

but you do have running water.

What is that noise? - Someone banging on the pipes.

Oh!