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The Secret Formula

Original title: La fórmula secreta
  • 1965
  • 42m
IMDb RATING
7.7/10
384
YOUR RATING
The Secret Formula (1965)
SatireComedyDramaShort

An irreverent essay, unified only by the author's unique voice, full of surreal moments and provocative scenarios related to intellectual debates about the Mexican national character.An irreverent essay, unified only by the author's unique voice, full of surreal moments and provocative scenarios related to intellectual debates about the Mexican national character.An irreverent essay, unified only by the author's unique voice, full of surreal moments and provocative scenarios related to intellectual debates about the Mexican national character.

  • Director
    • Rubén Gámez
  • Writers
    • Rubén Gámez
    • Santos Núñez
    • Juan Rulfo
  • Stars
    • José Castillo
    • Manuel Gaitán
    • Pilar Islas
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.7/10
    384
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Rubén Gámez
    • Writers
      • Rubén Gámez
      • Santos Núñez
      • Juan Rulfo
    • Stars
      • José Castillo
      • Manuel Gaitán
      • Pilar Islas
    • 2User reviews
    • 4Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Photos3

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    Top cast9

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    José Castillo
    Manuel Gaitán
    Pilar Islas
    Nico-Nito
    Paloma
    Fernando Rosales
    Jaime Sabines
      Bulmaro Solís
      José Tirado
      • Director
        • Rubén Gámez
      • Writers
        • Rubén Gámez
        • Santos Núñez
        • Juan Rulfo
      • All cast & crew
      • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

      User reviews2

      7.7384
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      Featured reviews

      7samxxxul

      Surrealistic Oddity: So relevant and appropriate!

      Mexico is in need of blood transfusion but Coca-Cola is injected in the veins like a serum, this induces a series of disjointed but interconnected nightmares that are as many acid and occasionally satirical portraits of what it means to be Mexican and the asphyxia produced by the progressive penetration of the United States in its culture. This experimental short film protests against the economic and cultural expansionism of the United States towards Mexico. Rubén Gámez embarks on a visionary journey that also includes superstitions, religion and death. Of course, the director critically examines the phenomenon, but does not not slip into moralizing and quite interestingly comes to the solution of the problem through the acceptance of himself and his surrounding reality and through the declaration of love for life. It is noteworthy that Gamez tells a award bait story in such a bizarre and hypnotic manner, but it is brilliant. This doesn't lead to the pleasant disappointment of being confronted with a plot that can be predictable after a while. He boldly clashes genre conventions that seeks to invent a new form of film-making appropriate and there is no middle ground; this film can only inspire like or dislike for it's surrealistic narrative.

      Overall, this works as a a social critique but the outcome depends on the viewers mood and how they treat each symbolism presented on the screen. This is a slap in the face to the progressive penetration of the West, it reminded me a lot of Georges Franju's Blood of the Beasts (1949) and particularly it belongs to similar kind of atmosphere found in Jean Cocteau's The Blood of a Poet (1932), Drahomíra Vihanová's Squandered Sunday (1990), Charles Burnett's Killer of Sheep (1978) and Ernst Moerman's Monsieur Fantômas (1937).

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      Related interests

      Peter Sellers in Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
      Satire
      Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
      Comedy
      Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
      Drama
      Benedict Cumberbatch in The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar (2023)
      Short

      Storyline

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      Did you know

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      • Trivia
        The alternative title for this short film is "Coca-Cola en la Sangre".
      • Connections
        Featured in The Story of Film: A New Generation (2021)
      • Soundtracks
        Inverno, Movimento I. Allegro non molto
        Taken from The Four Seasons, Concerto No. 4 in F Minor, Op. 8, RV 297

        Composed by Antonio Vivaldi

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      Details

      Edit
      • Release date
        • November 11, 1965 (Mexico)
      • Country of origin
        • Mexico
      • Language
        • Spanish
      • Also known as
        • La fórmula secreta
      • Filming locations
        • Mexico
      • See more company credits at IMDbPro

      Tech specs

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      • Runtime
        • 42m
      • Color
        • Black and White
      • Aspect ratio
        • 1.37 : 1

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