Ruben Gamez Collection - Magueys, The Secret Formula, Tequila torrent

Here are the three non-documentary films by the legendary Mexican experimental film auteur Ruben Gamez.

Magueys (1962) depicts a war between two armies of cacti, set to Shostakovich. In Mexico, this short played before Buñuel's The Exterminating Angel.

The Secret Formula (1965), the winner of Mexico's Experimental Film Competition that year, is a surrealist take on Mexican identity. While it was being filmed, Juan Rulfo (Pedro Paramo) was so impressed with the rushes that he offered to write a poem specially for the film. Unfortunately, despite being widely acclaimed, it proved to be politically controversial and was censored. Gamez burned the negative in protest, but fortunately some copies survived.

Tequila (1992) was Gamez's first and only feature-length film. Due to the political fallout of The Secret Formula, he made a living making documentaries, only able to make his feature debut in the 1990s. Dedicated to the women of Mexico, Tequila consists of a series of absurdist episodes examining Mexican identity and politics, poverty and modernization and the place of women in a sexist society. Though a little-known film, its admirers include Carlos Reygadas.

Magueys has no dialogue, The Secret Formula has hardsubs and Tequila has softsubs. Apologies for the poor video quality, but these films are quite rare and it's better than nothing