During recess in the global cinema world schoolyard, Hollywood reigns supreme as the perennial "King of the Hill." It lays the smack down on all the independent filmmakers trying to work outside the system to produce artistic films instead of purely money-making, $9 for adults, but only $5 for students with school ID, assembly-line manufactured products.

Sometimes, one briefly gets to join Hollywood at the peak by making a breakthrough piece of work–but only until Hollywood takes notice and gobbles up the filmmaker so they are one and the same. Thus, like a traditional Victorian novel, order is once again restored.

Under the radar though, some filmmakers are able to attract enough attention to gather a following in spite of the hurdles in their way. Some of these peoples in the know invited director Ernesto Rimoch to present his latest film, Demasiado Amor (To Love Too Much), last Thursday, October 11, in a Rose Hills Theater packed with many virgins (to Mexican film, that is).

Demasiado Amor, based on the award-winning novel by Sara Sefchovich, follows the rapid sexual/social development of Beatriz (Karina Gidi, in the role that won her Best Actress at the 2001 Muestra de Cine Guadalajara) from passive, dependent, and timid wallflower to assertive and promiscuous Destiny’s Child-brand independent woman.

At the same time, Beatriz also develops an appreciation for her Mexican homeland, which contrasts with her initial life’s-dream to immigrate to Europe and run a guesthouse with her sister, Laura (Ana Karina Guevara). In the beginning of the movie, the sisters decide that Laura will go off to Spain with their combined life savings so they can realize their dream.

Meanwhile, Beatriz meets a tall, dark, and handsome man in a cafe. She approaches this man, Carlos (Ari Telch), and her panties come off quicker than those cheap temporary tattoos that were always hidden deep down in the bottom of the damn cereal box, forcing you to dig through the vitamin and mineral encrusted pieces of wheat goodness to get at the prize. Anyway, Carlos eventually disappears and, in his absence, Beatriz can’t seem to say no to the many men she meets at the cafe.

Through her relationships with these men–especially Carlos, who comes and goes and comes and then goes forever–Beatriz learns a lot about life, sometimes the hard way. Although the movie does focus on her many trysts (including one with a man nicknamed "The Engine"), her dealings with a sleazy boss, a greedy landlord, her traitorous sister, and a violent criminal are also important in her transformation into a world-wise person.

Even though the ending is not your typical "happily ever after," the movie does have a certain fairy tale quality to it. For example, Beatriz’s preferred roadside flower vendor is an old lady with the deepest voice ever, who tells her in the beginning that if she realized how pretty she was, she’d recognize all the looks men were giving her. Later in the movie, Beatriz returns to her proverbial fairy godmother to tell her about not just one, but two...TWO boyfriends.

Rimoch made a fairy tale association of his own in the hour and a half long question and answer session following the showing, comparing Beatriz’s early naiveté to the reality of everything around her to Alice’s disorientation in Alice in Wonderland.

At first, the questions from the half of the audience that stayed for the Q & A session concentrated on the content of the movie. Rimoch explicitly drew out the intertwined relationship between Beatriz’s discovery of herself and her country. He also praised the work of cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa Flores Jr., the son of the great cinematographer Gabriel Figueroa.

While most audience members prefaced their questions with profuse praises of the movie, one woman questioned the movie’s adaptation of the novel, pointing out factual discrepancies (Beatriz and Laura’s European destination in the novel is Italy, not Spain) and the omission of what she considered angry currents in the text. She also questioned the sexist message that Beatriz needed a man to show her all the good things and places in Mexico.

Rimoch responded by introducing the idea of poetic license, saying "When you adapt a book, you tell your own story." Yet, he also explained that at the same time, he tried to respect the essence of the novel and kept in contact with Sefchovich throughout production.

As for the sexist perspective, Rimoch downplayed Carlos’ importance as a knight in shining armor, pointing out that he was a "jerk." Instead, Beatriz’s own interpretation of the events in her life is more important in tracing her growth as a person. Many scenes in the movie were almost like dream sequences, emphasizing the idea that Beatriz came to a greater understanding by reliving her memories.

After a while, the topic digressed from the movie into a more general discussion of what it means to be an independent foreign filmmaker when someone asked how regular, everyday consumers responded to artsy films like Demasiado Amor at the box office.

Sergio Cabrera, a Colombian filmmaker who was present to support his peer and friend, explained how the choice between a Mexican film and an American import at a movie theater in Mexico was like the difference between "a bicycle and an automobile, at the same price." Rimoch later pointed out that more money is spent on publicity for big-budget American films than is spent total on Mexican films. Cabrera further criticized Hollywood as a "McDonald’s hamburger factory," referring to the lack of creativity in American film plots.

At one point, a lot of people began speaking solely in Spanish, leaving the non-Spanish speaking members of the audience flustered. Fortunately, Professor of History and Chicano Studies Miguel Tinker Salas stepped in to help translate for the audience and Cabrera, who felt more comfortable speaking Spanish than English.

After the official end of the Q & A session, many people milled about Rose Hills to get a chance to personally meet Rimoch and Cabrera while others promptly exited the building. Eventually, the lights were turned off, the doors were locked, and sweet Rose Hills bedded down for the night, preparing for her hot date the next day with a Hollywood-type: Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark.

Out of 5 stars, the Teflon Don pays off four and "convinces" the last one to look the other way.