A veteran of Mexico’s avant-garde theater movement of the 1930s, Bracho became one of the highest paid directors of the period now referred to as “la Epoca de Oro del Cine Mexicano,” but fell from political favor in 1960 with his daring La sombra del caudillo (The Shadow of the Leader), a critical look at Mexican politics in the 1920s and ’30s.  

Julio Bracho’s 1943 Distinto amanacer (Another Dawn) revealed a filmmaker of emotional resonance, formal mastery, and social insight. This overview of Bracho’s work brings back both Another Dawn and Crepúsculo (Twilight) (1945) in new digital restorations, while demonstrating Bracho’s range beyond film noir with such films as the peasant drama Rosenda (1948), the surreal comedy La corte del faraón (The Pharoah’s Court) (1944) and the lush period romance Historia de un gran amor (1942). 

New York: March 1 - 9 at MoMA. Full lineup and details here.