A nameless Mexican state is under revolutionary rule where anti-Catholic rules make any priest a fugitive. A nameless priest (Henry Fonda) returns to his burnt out church and finds Maria Dolores there alone with her baby. She wishes for her daughter to be baptized. He rings the bell and the villagers come out of hiding. Revolutionary commander Juan Rafael is hunting for the priest and institutes a ruthless plan to take a villager hostage threating to execute him in the priest's place. The priest decides to escape and encounters wanted criminal El Gringo.
This is legendary director John Ford's cinematic flair for the camera work and a pro-religion work of art. Fonda has one facial expression in this movie and a general muteness which allows him to deliver some great lines in the climax. Rafael is a bewildered tyrant. The problem is that he's drawn too broadly. It's a role that needs care but it is more like a hammer being swung around in a china shop. He has an interesting personal story with Maria but it feels repetitive. It doesn't help that they randomly meet again later in the movie. He has an overwhelming cluelessness which makes him a cartoon character. He is a forced creation rather than good drama. In a way, that's this movie. Ford is using his cinematic skills to push through a point of view inside a movie. The final scene with the backlit cross is very reminiscent of the doorway in The Searchers. This is a movie of superior skills.
This is legendary director John Ford's cinematic flair for the camera work and a pro-religion work of art. Fonda has one facial expression in this movie and a general muteness which allows him to deliver some great lines in the climax. Rafael is a bewildered tyrant. The problem is that he's drawn too broadly. It's a role that needs care but it is more like a hammer being swung around in a china shop. He has an interesting personal story with Maria but it feels repetitive. It doesn't help that they randomly meet again later in the movie. He has an overwhelming cluelessness which makes him a cartoon character. He is a forced creation rather than good drama. In a way, that's this movie. Ford is using his cinematic skills to push through a point of view inside a movie. The final scene with the backlit cross is very reminiscent of the doorway in The Searchers. This is a movie of superior skills.