Pantelion Films is once again bringing us great things. On Thursday, the production company released the first look at “Cantinflas,” the movie about the life of Mexican comedian Mario Moreno. Throughout his life, Moreno not only conquered hearts in his native land, but also in Latin America and Hollywood. His character, Cantinflas, came to be associated with the national identity of Mexico, and allowed him to establish a long, successful film career.
Even Charlie Chaplin once commented that Cantinflas was the best comedian alive, and Moreno has been referred to as the “Charlie Chaplin of Mexico.” To audiences in the United States, he is best remembered as co-starring with David Niven in the 1956 film “Around the World in 80 Days,” which earned Cantinflas a Golden Globe Award. Although the movie will touch base on his incredible success, they will start from Moreno’s origins, from boxer to bull fighter, to janitor, dancer and finally actor.
The film, directed by Sebastián del Amo, stars Spanish actor Oscar Jaenada in the leading role. Jaenada has been nominated many times to different international awards, and won a Goya for "best male performance" in the film Camarón. "This character, what he represents, is a great artistic challenge. I want to show who Mario was, his struggles in life and the way he saw Cantinflas," explained Jaenada at a press conference. Meanwhile, del Amo is very pleased with the casting selection.
"He's a great actor and he has an incredible resemblance to Mario Moreno," said the director. "Besides, Mario is a universal character, he was Mexican, but he's someone that belongs to Latin America and Hispanics in general, so all Spanish speakers have him as a reference." Also making an appearance in “Cantinflas” are, Luis Gerardo Méndez playing Shilinsky, Ilse Salas as Valentina Ivanova (Cantinflas' wife), Roberto Sosa impersonating Agustín Lara, Joaquín Cosío as El Indio Fernández, Julio Bracho playing Jorge Negrete, Bárbara Mori as Liz Taylor, and Ximena González Rubio as María Félix.
The movie comes out August 29. Scroll down to see the “Cantinflas” first official trailer!
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