Chuncho, a Mexican bandit-revolutionary (Gian Maria Volonté) and Bill Taylor, a nattily-attired gringo (Lou Castel), follow a bloody path of violence and betrayal as they transport a load of stolen weapons to General Elias (Jaime Fernández), a prominent revolutionary leader. Volonté is entertaining as the stereotypical Mexican bandito, grizzled, oddly courteous and constantly laughing, Castel is OK although his character never seems more than a cipher, and the always entertaining Klaus Kinski is along for the ride as "El Santo' a murderous friar with an unflagging loyalty to la revolution. The plot moves along well as hints are dropped about Taylor's real reasons for being in Mexico and Chuncho's righteous vs. Mercenary values are put to the test. All the standard 'spaghetti western' tropes are in place but the well-developed plot, attention to detail, and the historical context of the film sets it above the usual pasta-oater and the ending is quite good. Worth watching at a number of levels.
Review of A Bullet for the General
