It is easy to miss the point of this unique movie. I expected an adventure film and then got drawn into it as a slice of life (and death) in a Mexican village.
It is as if B Traven shows us what happens in the traditional village after the protagonists in "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" leave. It is complete with John Houston playing his father's old codger role and well too. Difference is that this is a coastal and not a mountain village. The pace of the movie, measured, corresponds to the pace of life in the village. So don't expect a lot of action.
The movie throws a curve or two-- e.g., (spoiler alert) It turns out the protagonist is looking for the man who killed his father, who may be (but probably isn't) the John Houston character.
Shows well the odd rural Mexican combination of Catholicism plus traditional Indian religion and custom. Typical example-- A dance starts out as a stereotype Mexican fiesta danced to a poorly played fiddle and then ends up with dancers in croc and jaguar costume dancing something from the old religion.
(Spoiler alert) In the end, after making the earlier point that "oil destroys whole villages", the main character decides that the villagers life is not worth destroying for the odd oil well. Definitely worth viewing if you are into this sort of thing.
It is as if B Traven shows us what happens in the traditional village after the protagonists in "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" leave. It is complete with John Houston playing his father's old codger role and well too. Difference is that this is a coastal and not a mountain village. The pace of the movie, measured, corresponds to the pace of life in the village. So don't expect a lot of action.
The movie throws a curve or two-- e.g., (spoiler alert) It turns out the protagonist is looking for the man who killed his father, who may be (but probably isn't) the John Houston character.
Shows well the odd rural Mexican combination of Catholicism plus traditional Indian religion and custom. Typical example-- A dance starts out as a stereotype Mexican fiesta danced to a poorly played fiddle and then ends up with dancers in croc and jaguar costume dancing something from the old religion.
(Spoiler alert) In the end, after making the earlier point that "oil destroys whole villages", the main character decides that the villagers life is not worth destroying for the odd oil well. Definitely worth viewing if you are into this sort of thing.