499

499

    Price: $395.00

    Code: 2625

    Directed by Rodrigo Reyes
    2020, 88 minutes
    Pre-order for Q3 2021: $395

    To reflect on the 500-year anniversary of the Spanish conquest of Mexico in 2021, director Reyes offers a bold hybrid cinema experience exploring the brutal legacy of colonialism in contemporary Mexico. Through the eyes of a ghostly conquistador, the film recreates Hernán Cortez’s epic journey from the coasts of Veracruz to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, the site of contemporary Mexico City. As the anachronistic fictional character interacts with real-life victims of Mexico’s failed drug wars and indigenous communities in resistance, the filmmaker portrays the country’s current humanitarian crisis as part of a vicious and unfinished colonial project, still in motion, nearly five hundred years later.

    Provocative, unique, and strikingly cinematic, 499 mixes non-fictional and performative elements with elements of the road movie to show how past traumas continue to affect contemporary reality. While linking these seemingly disparate histories of violence, the film confirms Reyes as one of the most potent voices in American independent cinema.

    The filmmaking team of 499 is available for speaking engagements. For more information, please email us at edu@cinemaguild.com




    Subjects & Collections



    Festivals & Awards

    Winner: Best Cinematography - Tribeca Film Festival 2020
    Winner: Special Jury Prize - HotDocs 2020
    Winner: Special Jury Prize - EBS International Documentary Film Festival, Korea 2020

    Official Selection - Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival 2020
    Official Selection - São Paulo International Film Festival 2020



    Reviews


    "...a tender, heartbreaking look at Mexico, its history, and culture....a unique film that finds hope after grief while still remembering the sins of its past." - Film Threat

    "Bold, unique, and strikingly cinematic." - Cinema Tropical

    "A unique look at modern day Mexico....Covering five hundred years of history in less than an hour and a half is a daunting task. Director Rodrigo Reyes does just that in 499." - AIPT