The Mexican documentary feature La Mami by Laura Herrero Garvín is currently ranked as the fifth best released film of the year based on its reviews according to the aggregating aggregation site Metacritics. The film was released by Cinema Tropical at the Maysles Cinema in New York City on on April 7, and it has played at the Fox Theatre in Tucson and the Digital Gym Cinema in San Diego, since then.
La Mami was selected as a Critic’s Pick by the New York Times. “This documentary about the den mother of dancers at a Mexico City cabaret is vérité at its best” wrote critic Beandrea July in her positive review of the film. “This remarkable portrayal of female friendship offers a poignant, elemental take on the lives of working-class women in urban Mexico today,” she added.
The top ranked film in Metacritics’ list is the German documentary Mr. Bachmann and His Class. The other top ranked productions are the Iranian film Hit the Road, the Norwegian Academy Award-nominated film The Worst Person in the World, and the American documentary film Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America.
Winner of the Cinema Tropical Award for Best Film, the second feature documentary by Herrero Garvín follows Doña Olga, also known as La Mami, who having worked more than 40 years in nightlife is the caretaker of the women’s restroom at the mythical Cabaret Barba Azul in Mexico City. Night after night, she attends to the dancers who perform there to live music. A beautiful friendship gradually develops between her and newcomer Priscilla, as the two exchange intimate details during their shifts, sharing glances in the mirror. Textural, empathetic, and shot completely from the female perspective, Herrero Garvín crafts an exquisite look into a world of women doing what they have to in order to provide for their families and carve a path for themselves and their loved ones under unforgiving circumstances.
La Mami opens on June 24 at the Roxie Theater in San Francisco, and will also play at the Cleveland Cinemateque at the Cleveland Institute of Art on June 30.
