Arturo Ripstein

Directing

Arturo Ripstein

Born 1943-12-13 · Mexico City, Mexico

Arturo Ripstein y Rosen (born December 13, 1943) is a Mexican film director. Ripstein got his break into movies working as an uncredited assistant director for Luis Buñuel. In 1965, he directed his first feature, Tiempo de Morir. Written by Carlos Fuentes and Gabriel García Márquez, it began a tradition of making independent films written by high-profile Latin-American authors. His 1981 film Seduction was entered into the 12th Moscow International Film Festival. His 1989 film Love Lies was entered into the 16th Moscow International Film Festival. In 1997 Ripstein won the National Prize of Arts and Sciences, the second filmmaker after Buñuel to do so. Some of Ripstein's films, especially the earlier ones, "highlighted characters beset by futile compulsions to escape [their]destinies". Many of his films are shot in tawdry interiors, with bleak brown color schemes, and seedy pathetic characters who manage to achieve a hint of pathos and dignity. Asi Es la Vida, according to Jonathan Crow, "boldly reworks the ancient Greek drama Medea, employing a dizzying array of flashbacks and Brechtian devices". Deep Crimson, according to the New York Times, is "a ferociously anti-romantic portrait of an obese nurse and a seedy small-time gigolo whose bungling scheme to swindle a succession of lonely women out of their life savings turns into a killing spree."

Acting credits

The Queen of Spain poster
5.2

After her experiences in Nazi Germany, actress Macarena Granada traveled to Hollywood, where she became a star. In the 1950s, the diva returns to Francoist Spain to star a Hollywood blockbuster about Queen Isabella I of Castile. (A sequel to The Girl of Your Dreams, 1998.)

The Queen of Spain

2016

The African Lover poster
5.8

A singer is on the run from the law and a criminal gang. She takes refuge at a hotel where she finally reveals a complex story of betrayal and revenge to the investigating detective.

The African Lover

1985

Internet Junkie poster
5.0

Many stories happen simultaneously through Internet. In the real world, people are lonely, isolated, desperate for finding love, friendship and tenderness. They project themselves as superheroes, with infinity of friends and hypersex. They live asphyxiated in front of their machines, unable to live with the people that surround them, exasperated for finding a pinch of love in the fantasy of the net. Outside the virtual world, they do not exist.

Internet Junkie

2015

Where Is Juan Moctezuma? poster
NR

Legendary 1970s Mexican horror film auteur Juan F. Moctezuma II reportedly influenced the work of mega-directors Guillermo del Toro, Robert Rodriguez, Sam Raimi, and more. But the last film Moctezuma made and his first in Hollywood, produced by Roger Corman, 1000 PATHS OF DEATH, was surrounded in mystery because it was shot in complete secrecy. And then he disappeared with the footage. Did his nemesis, the famous luchador Scorpion, sabotage his work yet again? Discover the truth in this fun film that delves into every level of the Mexican exploitation industry as it unfolds its obsessive tale.

Where Is Juan Moctezuma?

2025

Familiarities poster
6.7

Betty is visited by a strange salesman the day she is going away on a trip. He stays in the house as a series of bizarre events occur with his arrival.

Familiarities

1969

Kurosawa: The Last Emperor poster
6.2

A profile and history of film director Akira Kurosawa.

Kurosawa: The Last Emperor

1999

Jugaremos en el bosque poster
6.9

After the death of his son, Javier hopes that restoring his family's abandoned ranch will allow him and his wife Mariana, who attempted suicide, a new beginning, but his grandmother refuses.

Jugaremos en el bosque

2024

Trail of Death poster
6.8

Thriller directed by Arturo Ripstein.

Trail of Death

1981

Speaking of Buñuel poster
6.0

Surrealist master Luis Buñuel is a towering figure in the world of cinema history, directing such groundbreaking works as Un Chien Andalou, Exterminating Angels, and That Obscure Object of Desire, yet his personal life was clouded in myth and paradox. Though sexually diffident, he frequently worked in the erotic drama genre; though personally quite conservative, his films are florid, flamboyant, and utterly bizarre.

Speaking of Buñuel

2000

No artwork available
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Arturo Ripstein habla de Luis Buñuel

2002

There Are No Thieves in This Village poster
5.9

When a young boy steals billiard balls from a local saloon, a stranger is charged with the crime. The local layabouts find there is no reason to hang out at the bar without being able to shoot pool, and the boy entertains thoughts of forming a gang to steal more billiard balls in hopes of making money.

There Are No Thieves in This Village

1965

Adriana del Rio, actriz poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

Adriana del Rio, actriz

1979

The Specter's Road poster
8.3

A group of people, including Capulina and Viruta, head towards the city by train. A heavy storm interrupts their journey and now they must take a haunted path to reach they city. (English Subtitled)

The Specter's Road

1967

Memoria de Los Olvidados poster
NR

Javier Espada's documentary about the making of Bunuel's masterpiece "Los Olvidados".

Memoria de Los Olvidados

2025

One Hundred Years with Juan Rulfo poster
NR

This documentary explores key moments in the life of writer Juan Rulfo, with artists such as Werner Herzog and Eduardo Galeano reflecting on his work.

One Hundred Years with Juan Rulfo

2017

The Flight of the Stork poster
4.3

An erotic model has three lovers, one of them is the father of her child. Which of the three will be?

The Flight of the Stork

1979

Tras Nazarin: Following Nazarin poster
5.2

"Nazarín is a Quixote of the priesthood " "Among the films I have made in Mexico, Nazarin is one that I prefer." "As inexplicable as the accidents that set it off, our imagination is a crucial privilege."

Tras Nazarin: Following Nazarin

2015

Cuartelazo poster
6.3

Narration of one of the bloodiest episodes of the Mexican national history, The Tragic Ten, beginning when General Victoriano Huerta sent to kill President Francisco I. Madero, Vice President José María Pino Suárez and Senator Belisario Dominguez. The film recreates the moment of the execution at the hands of Huerta and his accomplices Bernardo Reyes, Félix Díaz and Manuel Mondragón.

Cuartelazo

1977

Los novios de mis hijas poster
6.6

Mama has four daughters in their late teens. some of them might be more interested in careers than husbands, but she's hoping she'll find a highly suitable young man for each of them. If there are any out there that meet her standards.

Los novios de mis hijas

1964

Mariana poster
6.0

As a teenager and student at a convent school, young Mariana runs away with her boyfriend, provoking the wrath of her father who sends her to Switzerland for ten years.

Mariana

1968

Recuerdo De Mi Presentación poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Recuerdo De Mi Presentación

2020

Behind the camera

The Virgin of Lust poster
6.8

In Vera Cruz in the 1940s, Nacho, an Indian, waits tables at Don Lázaro's café at Hotel Ofélia. He falls for Lola, an opium-addicted, alcoholic whore who's hopelessly in love with Gardenia Wilson, a masked wrestler who slept with her once but knows she's unbalanced. Don Lázaro warns Nacho about Lola, and Nacho knows his love will be unrequited, but he'll do anything, regardless of how degrading, to be near her. Lola, for her part, can be sadistic. Republican exiles who are regulars at the café encourage Lola's desire to assassinate Franco. Nacho in turn mixes this political mirage with his fascination with the plot of "The Mikado." Where do fantasies and obsessions lead?

The Virgin of Lust

2002

Dangerous Game poster
5.8

Two dark-comedy stories involving blackmail, murder and love triangles in Rio de Janeiro

Dangerous Game

1967

The Drunkard poster
8.0

An examination of the problem of alcoholism in Mexico, focusing primarily on the underprivileged, though it also analyzes how this addiction transcends social, gender, and temporal barriers.

The Drunkard

1976

The Drunkard poster
8.0

An examination of the problem of alcoholism in Mexico, focusing primarily on the underprivileged, though it also analyzes how this addiction transcends social, gender, and temporal barriers.

The Drunkard

1976

Life Sentence poster
6.8

After being released from jail, "Tarzan" Lira seeks to rebuild his life as a bank employee. Unfortunately, it might not be as easy as he thinks.

Life Sentence

1979

Life Sentence poster
6.8

After being released from jail, "Tarzan" Lira seeks to rebuild his life as a bank employee. Unfortunately, it might not be as easy as he thinks.

Life Sentence

1979

Exorcismos poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Exorcismos

1970

Castle of Purity poster
7.4

A disciplined and sexually driven man forces his family to stay isolated in their home in order to protect them from the “evil nature” of human beings.

Castle of Purity

1973

Castle of Purity poster
7.4

A disciplined and sexually driven man forces his family to stay isolated in their home in order to protect them from the “evil nature” of human beings.

Castle of Purity

1973

Deep Crimson poster
6.8

Driven by desire and desperate for self-love, Coral and Nicolás will abandon their past lives in a journey surrounded by murder.

Deep Crimson

1996

El otro poster
4.9

A novelist travels to the country to learn the problems of a friend's shy son and runs into an intruder.

El otro

1986

Crimen poster
NR

No synopsis available yet.

Crimen

1970

The Place Without Limits poster
7.3

Family honor, greed, machismo, homophobia, and dreams collide in a small Mexican town.

The Place Without Limits

1978

The Place Without Limits poster
7.3

Family honor, greed, machismo, homophobia, and dreams collide in a small Mexican town.

The Place Without Limits

1978

The Children's Hour poster
5.7

A married couple entrusts the care of their young son to a strange clown. The film focuses on the relationship between the clown and the child, to whom he reluctantly tells stories and tries to keep entertained while waiting for his fee to be paid.

The Children's Hour

1969

The Children's Hour poster
5.7

A married couple entrusts the care of their young son to a strange clown. The film focuses on the relationship between the clown and the child, to whom he reluctantly tells stories and tries to keep entertained while waiting for his fee to be paid.

The Children's Hour

1969

H.O. poster
NR

Homero Olmos, a famous television publicist known as "H.O." or "The Voice of Experience," is driving along a lonely road heading to Rio de Janeiro when he meets Claudia and Luis, a newlywed couple whose car has been in an accident.

H.O.

1967

Time to Die poster
6.9

A man comes home after serving 18 years in jail for murder in this routine western. Although the man killed in self defense, rumors in town circulated that he murdered the victim in cold blood. The ex-con wants to get his life together, but the two sons of the slain man are gunning for the man who killed their father.

Time to Die

1966

Autobiografía poster
7.0

No synopsis available yet.

Autobiografía

1970

Trail of Death poster
6.8

Thriller directed by Arturo Ripstein.

Trail of Death

1981

La belleza poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

La belleza

1970

La belleza poster
6.0

No synopsis available yet.

La belleza

1970

Foxtrot poster
4.8

A Romanian aristocrat retreats to a desert isle with his wife and servants on the eve of World War II.

Foxtrot

1976

Foxtrot poster
4.8

A Romanian aristocrat retreats to a desert isle with his wife and servants on the eve of World War II.

Foxtrot

1976