Below The Fruited Plain1966

"... set in Mexico in the sandal shop of Ubaldo, a peasant craftsman. The camera enters the shop and moves in on Ubaldo as he makes a pair of sandals for some tourists. Meanwhile, the soundtrack gives a dialogue between an uptight American couple. The man in particular (George Kuchar's voice) is truly an American horror as he puts down Mexico, Ubaldo, and his own wife whom he obviously hates. "But Lipton gives us much more than a bitterly amusing view of a sick marriage. In a remarkably brief period of time he also shows us a view of Mexico as seen by American tourists, and he shows us a view of American tourists as seen by Mexicans and as seen by him, and he makes a statement about the nature of work, industrial society, and alienation ...." – Richard Milner, Berkeley Barb