‘Arrancame la Vida’ the only Latin American movie to enter next stage of Oscar judging

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

‘Arráncame la Vida,’ or ‘Tear This Heart Out,’ the Mexican film by writer-director Roberto Sneider, is the only Latin American movie to have advanced into the next stage of judging in the foreign-language category of this year’s Academy Awards.

A press release from the academy said that judges in Los Angeles and New York will spend this weekend whittling the nine foreign-language entries down to five.

The final five nominees will be announced Jan. 22.

The film, described by Variety as a passionate love story set against the backdrop of Mexico’s post-revolution ‘30s and ‘40s, stars Daniel Giménez Cacho and Ana Claudia Talancón. It proved to be one of the most expensive films in Mexican movie history, according to La Jornada, requiring an investment of $6.5 million.

The movie is based on a novel of the same name by Ángeles Mastretta and tells the story of Catalina Guzmán (Talancón), a young girl from Puebla who falls in love with a much older military man, Andrés Ascencio (Giménez Cacho). You can watch the trailer above.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City