The Mexico Trilogy

[School of Movies 2026]

Here we begin a Director Season on the films of Robert Rodriguez. This first show is kind of a roller coaster as we get to know his style, what makes Robert tick, and we chart his progress from absolute indie obscurity, making a film for almost nothing and garnering recognition on the festival circuit, charting that up through his awkward TV movie pitstop, until he hit actual popularity with genuine audiences with a sequel that is also a remake, and just happens to star Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek at the peak of their sizzling onscreen sexiness.

After this came his collaboration with Quentin Tarantino, Four Rooms, From Dusk till Dawn and then the neo teen-Horror wave of the late 90s with The Faculty (coming next week). After this he began his slew of Spy Kids films, which appealed to a completely different audience.

But we conclude with the third and final part of what became his "Mexico Trilogy", when Robert charged in on the wave of new film tech, both shooting and editing digitally. His career would change irrevocably at this point.

1. El Mariachi (1992) + Road Racers (1994)

2. Desperado (1995)

3. Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)