Cinema
Mi amigo Ángel
Sami Kafati · 1962
Synopsis
Ángel, a young shoeshine boy, walks the streets of Tegucigalpa to help his mother and little brother, and looks for his father, an alcoholic. The film opens on an aerial view that glides from the centre to the poor outskirts, above the vultures; the child's walk then crosses the city's districts and social groups, and meets poverty, friendship, violence against women and religion.
Context
The shoot is carried out without technicians or equipment, with a Bolex camera obtained with great difficulty according to a study published in Mexico; Roger Membreño Guzmán plays Ángel. The film opens at the Palace cinema in Tegucigalpa in 1964, and the public receives it badly: its author is reproached for showing the ugliness of the country and its poor neighbourhoods. It is shown in Rome in 1965, at the national film institute. The dates vary: 1962 for most sources, 1963 for the Directors' Fortnight, 1964 for completion according to AramcoWorld magazine.
Who it is for
Thirty-two minutes in Spanish, almost without plot, with non-professional actors; the kinship with Italian neorealism is visible.
Prizes and reception
Poorly received on its release, it is regarded today as the founding work of Honduran cinema, and was screened as far afield as Los Angeles in 2024.
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