A staggering performance from Toshiro Mifune anchors this Oaxacan morality play. Despite delivering his lines in phonetic Spanish and being dubbed over, Mifune delivers a moving depiction of a drunken, lazy, horny, gambling hedonist. A part that might have been highly offensive if cast differently.
In some ways, this is reminiscent of what Boorman did with Mifune and Marvin years later for Hell in the Pacific. But in this case, Mifune is often carrying the scene entirely alone. The village locale is beautiful, but the realities of patronage, social status, gender and the role of religion are not ignored.
Ismael Rodriguez probably would have won the Oscar for this, were he not up against Bergman. A shame, as the Oaxacan author of the novel it is based on had died the year before. It has been released on a subtitled DVD, but in a horrible pan & scan of a Scope film.
In some ways, this is reminiscent of what Boorman did with Mifune and Marvin years later for Hell in the Pacific. But in this case, Mifune is often carrying the scene entirely alone. The village locale is beautiful, but the realities of patronage, social status, gender and the role of religion are not ignored.
Ismael Rodriguez probably would have won the Oscar for this, were he not up against Bergman. A shame, as the Oaxacan author of the novel it is based on had died the year before. It has been released on a subtitled DVD, but in a horrible pan & scan of a Scope film.
