Bless Me, Ultima (2012) Reviews

• Good

  melindapehrson2013-11-07

  I like the way that in the book for Bless Me, Ultima they really show dichotomy between Antonio's Mom and Dad. Maria wanting Antonio to follow his Luna blood line and Gabriel wanting him to follow his Marez blood. In the book it really show how much conflict there is in his mind of who he wants to become and what he wants to be. However, in the movie I really liked how they showed how Maria and Gabriel still love each other very much no matter what their differences are. In the book they didn't show the love between Maria and Gabriel as well as in the movie. Watching the movie really helped me imagine what Antonio was going through and his emotions. They did a great job of making this movie and show the conflicts in Antonio's life when he was young. I do recommend this movie for those who have read the book.

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• Best movie about our culture since Salt of the Earth

  mmontoyasw2012-10-21

  Best movie about our gente since Salt of the Earth. Must watch! No clichés here. Just a sweet, subtle, and poignant coming of age story set in the beautiful, but troubled post WWII landscape of northern New Mexico. Few films make you feel like you're reading a novel-- refreshingly, this one does justice to Rudolfo Anaya's timeless classic. The arc climaxes with little fanfare, but you will no doubt be left with a sense of how and why the supernatural, deeply woven into the daily life of these comunidades, helps people navigate the paradoxes of "good" and "evil." In a period when Latinos, as a demographic are coming of age politically, and while at once courted and loathed, Bless Me, Ultima is timely, but also transcendent and universal. Don't miss it!

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• A movie about growing up with the drama and love within the Mexican culture

  roy-rodriguez542012-10-08

  A touching, unpretentious story told by a man who reminisces about growing up in a Mexican/American family during the years of WWII in New Mexico. The story focuses on the culture that surrounded such families during that time and depicts the strong bonds that tied them to the land, religion and each other. We are shown small glimpses of how even in their remote part the United States, the war had touched them by taking away their sons to defend our country. The storyline mainly surrounds the accounts of this grown up man (Antonio) as he narrates his view of the world as a child and the huge desire he had to understand everything around him. It depicts the very close bond he forms with a new member of their family and how this person shows him the beauty that life has to offer. This new member is named Ultima and she is a healer (curandera) who cures with herbs and "magic". Ultima is taken in by his parents due to her having nobody else in the late stages of her life. The story shows the importance that religion played in the Mexican culture and how the taboo of the unknown was shunned by most. Ultima's ability to heal people was not always seen by others as good and the accusations of her being a witch are part of the drama within the story. The toil of daily life and the importance of everyone working together during harvest time reveals the close ties that existed between families at that time. Overall, it is a story that shows how people can get strength from their experiences and grow from the wonders that surround them. If we embrace life and everything that happens, both good and evil, we can have an existence with richer fullness.

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• This is supposed to be magical

  aharmas2013-03-23

  I never read the novel, but I can only assume that it has to be much better than the movie, a film that missed the mark in the way that so many other films dealing with magic/supernatural/unknown have failed. One that comes to mind is the "House of Spirits" with Meryl Street and Glenn Close. There is a case that had the perfect cast, and it failed to hit the target. This movie has also two wonderful leads, and Alfred Molina doing a narration, but it just never comes together. One can admire the extreme care the production has gone through to recreate an era, with its accurate costume and sets, and somehow the script appears to have all the lines in the right place, but the movie just feels quite pedestrian, like a rehearsal, and a bad one... The story deals with the eternal dilemma of how people perceive that which can't be understood, the different, the strange, even when this helps some of the people that deny it later. We hear words like "evil", "revenge", "witchcraft" being thrown around, and we start associating this with the witch hunting that has terrorized the female population for thousands of years. Add to that a touch of racism and class differences. It is hard to evaluate an effort of this kind, and it begs to remade again, preferably with a director better suited to this kind of material. There are very few people like Steven Spielberg, who can handle just about any type of material. I kept thinking back to Sergio Leone who could make children's relationships come alive in "Once Upon a Time in America", and even Richard Donner could get some emotions across in his movies, but this one feels like someone left the camera rolling and just whatever. "Bless the Ultima" must be more than what is projected here. Can someone explain what happened?

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• A boy's study of human faith and its good and bad.

  Reno-Rangan2014-08-25

  The film poster says that it was based on the controversial novel. I don't know anything about that, but I feel it was referred like that for the marketing purpose. Anyway, it was a good, an unexpectedly good movie that came my way. Being a fan of the kids movie I loved it very much. Not only that, the diverged story with often the plot that meets fantasy and reality at a certain quantity was told in a great quality. It might be a story of the kid, but many stuffs were cruel and violent that I doubt does it fit for children to watch. As it set during just after the second world war, I think the harsh side of the story was extremely essential. And also being true to the book. The story was narrated from the character Antonio who takes us back to his childhood days. When he was a 7-year-old kid, he lived in a small village of the New Mexico. He was raised in a farmer family who was well respected in the town. One day an old lady called Ultima comes to join his family to live forth. Soon Antonio and Ultima begin to have a close relationship. As a medicine woman she teaches everything about mending and curing. And as a wise woman she resolves Antonio's doubts over the good and the bad. As a sudden a conflict between Ultima and a witch family from the town begin to take a wing. As a little boy nothing much he can do than witnessing which brings the end of his narration. ''A man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower. With only the sun, earth and water, making it blossom.'' It was from the first book of the four book series. And I am eager to know more about Antonio and his story of the different section of life. Hope they make those remaining 3 movies. This is a coming-of-age story and about a boy who is interested to become a priest which is well backed by his family. At the early age itself, he begins to learn the lessons with the help of the experienced hand. Kind of incredible journey of a little smart boy. The world he sees through his eyes was the story told about the human nature that collide between good and bad. The cast was not recognizable, probably I am seeing all of them for the first time. But the performances were very good. Apart from the boy and an old woman the remaining cast was also good. The movie was shot in the lovely places, captured beautiful dry landscapes, but there were a couple of scenes in the rain. Overall, a great movie, far from exhibiting the existing culture, but conflict remained the same. I feel like I must appreciate author as well this filmmaker to give such a nice movie.

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