Cinema de lagrimas (1995) ***

A tribute to the Latin American cinema in general and Mexican melodramas in particular. It features sequences from 17 classic films. Highlights include: a vengeful father killing his daughter's lover while they exchange their wedding vows, another father killing his daughter with a knife while she dances in her lover's arms ("Historia de un gran amor", 1942), a mother forced by a gangster to abandon her newborn baby in a trash can ("Victimas del pecado", 1951), a grief-stricken lover entering the tomb of his beloved ("Abismos de passion", 1954), a husband buying a nude sculpture of his wife ("La Diosa arrodillada", 1947), a mean woman kicking a bankrupt man out of her house ("Dona diabla", 1950), a wild party girl scandalizing her guests by singing and dancing, a son commiting suicide after learning about his beloved mother's sinful life ("Armino negro", 1953). Directed by Nelson Pereira dos Santos.