Redes (1936)

A progressive historical snapshot about workers' rights that deserves more recognition.

Directed by: Emilio Gómez Muriel & Fred Zinnemann

Cinematography by: Paul Strand

Country: Mexico

In a small village on the Gulf Coast of Mexico, a group of impoverished fisherman band together and revolt against the local government officials and corrupt businessmen exploiting their labor.

Made during one of the most progressive periods in Mexico’s history, the Mexican government funded and produced this moving tale about workers’ rights and the power of community. Redes (“The Wave”) predates the Italian neorealist movement by nearly ten years, but employs many of the same techniques, shooting on location and using non-professional actors to tell its socially conscious story of the working poor, and the day-to-day difficulties they face struggling to put food on the table, devoting their time to labor-intensive jobs, as profiteers cut their wages, knowing full well that the workers risk losing their livelihoods and the sparse incomes they have if they fight back.

Legendary U.S photographer Paul Strand co-wrote the film’s story and doubled as the cinematographer. Directors Fred Zinnemann and Emilio Gómez Muriel - both of whom would become revered in their own rights - regularly clashed with Strand over how to shoot the film: Strand desired stillness and a static camera, while the directors wanted to take advantage of the medium with as much movement as possible within each frame. Regardless of their quarrels, the final results are magnificent, Strand’s photography matching the energy of the story shot-for-shot.

Not widely seen or even known of - though part of Martin Scorsese’s World Cinema Project in which he restores, curates and presents culturally significant films from international filmmakers, past and present, whose substantial, albeit neglected voices may have otherwise been completely lost to time - Redes unquestionably deserves to be a staple of North American cinema, and I sincerely recommend it to all. Even though it was made 80+ years ago, historical snapshots such as Redes contain universal themes that continue to resonate today and provide valuable gateways to cross-class and cross-cultural understanding.