Experience The Tragedy Of The Second Mexican Empire Through The Short Film Max and Carlota

Did you know (before reading this page, of course) that a Hapsburg ruled Mexico for a short time? Did you know that two Mexican representatives asked Napoleon III to supply a Catholic monarchy for Mexico? These were all facts that we really delved into and expounded on in this short film.

Did you know that the man chosen for the throne of Mexico left his luxurious home in Europe to help a nation that he hardly knew about? That promises made to him by friends were unkept, resulting in disaster for him and his wife?

Did you know that his adoring wife, who was the support of his life, suffered a mental breakdown and was swallowed up by insanity during the drama of their Mexican Adventure? That Civil War-tossed America assisted in this man's downfall?

Did you know that this man was betrayed by a soldier he thought loyal to him? That he gave his life for his adopted country with the words "Viva Mexico!" on his lips? I did not.

Faustina Bowen as Empress Carlota of Mexico

After being assured of French support for at least three years, Franz Josef’s younger brother, Maximilian, goes to Mexico to establish a monarchy and free Mexico from both her overwhelming debt and their tyrannical president.

He likes the idea because he knows that he can use his knowledge of politics and military to help a struggling nation while escaping from the great shadow of his older brother.

After only a few months, the American Civil war ends, and France breaks her promise. Napoleon III withdraws his promised troops in fear of the reaction of the United States to his plan of establishing a monarchy in Mexico. Outraged, Carlota goes to Napoleon to try and persuade him to keep his promise. If she fails in her resolve to reinstate French support, Maximilian and all faithful to him will fall victims to President Juarez' regime.

Unfortunately, we premiered Max & Carlota in 2020, right when the sanitation dictatorship was in full swing.

Though we were still able to have it at our local parish, our actors were not able to join us.

We had a very successful Max & Carlota LIVE premiere with 470 views and $1280 raised! 20% was shared with the cast and the rest helped fund our next film, Grisly Grisell. You can help us make our current productions by paying it forward.

We had the honor of having Mrs. Anne Carroll participate in our Live Premiere! She painted some very bleak eras in history followed by their glorious springtimes.

Her speech was inspiring and motivating, filled with hope and concluded with the premise that homeschoolers will bring the new springtime much needed after this long and hard wintertime. Mrs. Carroll almost left us speechless as you can tell when watching our follow-up commentary.

If you missed the LIVE Max & Carlota premiere or want to reminisce, Mary has edited an event video which you can watch now.

Faustina Bowen as Empress Carlota. Charlotte changed her name to the Spanish version "Carlota" when she moved to Mexico.

Faustina Bowen, who also wrote the script, acted Carlota in Max & Carlota. She was excited to have a character who always spoke her mind as Carlota, from persuading Max to go to Mexico to demanding Napoleon III send his soldiers back to Mexico.

"Memorizing lines is not too hard for me. It is getting them out," she responded when asked what the hardest part about acting was. "Somehow the phrases get backward in my mind and I spend a lot of time on one line that should take 10 seconds to record."

One of her favorite things about Carlota's character was her mental breakdown. "It was something very new for me. I like how Carlota did not think of the dangers of going to Mexico. She only thought of the good it would bring." 

Researching for this movie was another thing that really interested Faustina. There was a lot about the Hapsburg family, the places Max and Carlota lived, and other tidbits about this era in history that she would not have learned without the effort of researching for this film.

James Phillips as General Miguel Maramon

James Phillips joined us again after his role as Godfrey in Outlaws of Ravenhurst, this time as one of the heroes instead of the villain.

As General Miguel Miramon, James enjoyed being with all the other actors and getting to know them.

James said that the hardest part about acting for him is saying the lines correctly and in the right manner.

James had a good time doing the character General Maramon. He specifically liked that this character is a good soldier and loyal to his emperor.

Music Forge, writing as Bjorn Erikson, really outdid himself with this epic Max & Carlota soundtrack. This original score contains five tracks with a complete run time of eighteen minutes. 

Listen for the character themes as well as the stirring battle music and support for Max's speech in this great disc. 

One of the biggest improvements we achieved for Max & Carlota was having an original score written. The score is now available in CD form for you to enjoy. 

Remember that all profits made on the Max & Carlota soundtrack goes directly into making future wholesome films. Visit our blog to learn more about current productions as well as our dreams for the future of our moviemaking business.