Bless Me, Ultima -- February 2013

GOOD VERSUS EVIL

The time: 1944. The place: Guadalupe, New Mexico. The situation: Seven-year-old Antonio Márez (aka Tony), lives with his parents, Gabriel and María, and his two older sisters. Tony's three older brothers are in Europe, fighting World War II. As the story begins, Tony learns from Gabriel and María that an elderly woman named Ultima, whom they have known and respected for many years, will be coming to live with them. Having no one else, Ultima will spend her final years with the family. She was the midwife at Tony's birth, and she is a curandera – a healer – and, as her name indicates, the last of her kind. Tony and Ultima are soon fast friends, he becoming her disciple and she his mentor.

Thus we have the opening of Bless Me, Ultima, Carl Franklin's film adaptation of Rudolfo Anaya's 1972 autobiographical novel of the same name. Ultima is a coming-of-age tale which, among other things, is about growing up Chicano in an era of modernization. However, the picture's overall scope is broader, dealing with several compelling themes: good versus evil and why evil even exists; the restless vagabond lifestyle versus the settled rural lifestyle; Christianity in contrast with traditional Native American religion; experiencing adversity and becoming stronger because of it.

Here's how the plot unfolds: Shortly after Ultima arrives, she is called to the bedside of Lucas, one of the brothers of María. The three daughters of Tenorio Trementina, an evil town businessman, have put a curse on Lucas, and he is dying. Ultima, accompanied and assisted by Tony, manages to cure Lucas by causing him to vomit the object which is causing his illness. Tony's Uncle Lucas recovers but not without incurring the ire of Tenorio, who believes that Ultima is una bruja – a witch – and vows to kill her. The battle between Tenorio and Ultima forms the major conflict in the book – and the film.

Many other interesting happenings take place in the ensuing months. Tony starts first grade and does so well that he is promoted to third grade at the end of the year. He meets a lot of other boys and becomes friends with most of them. Tony's three brothers return to Guadalupe from the war, but they have been changed: two of them are restless and leave for the big city of Albuquerque. The other stays in town but, much to Tony's disappointment (he had admired this brother a great deal), comes to spend most of his time at the local brothel. Especially interesting are the experiences of Tony and the town children in the catechism class held in the local Catholic church. The class is taught by a harsh priest who, as another reviewer has pointed out, leads the children to greatly fear God rather than understand and seek Him. This causes considerable consternation among the children, most notably in Tony, who finds his faith challenged.

Much else happens in the story, in particular the final confrontation between Tenorio and Ultima, but I'll leave it to you to discover that for yourself. Pay particular attention to the owl who always accompanies Ultima. What does the owl represent? Also note the theme that Ultima repeats again and again: "Good always overcomes evil."

Bless Me, Ultima was filmed on location in New Mexico, and anyone who has lived in that state (I am one such person) is likely to find the landscape and instances of local color highly appealing. The movie offers something more, however: a look at a culture with which we might not be very familiar, in the context of universal themes. The role of Ultima is excellently played by Puerto Rican actress Miriam Colon, and twelve-year-old (nine at the time of filming) Los Angeles actor Luke Ganalon shines as Tony. The only really well-known actor in the picture is Alfred Molina, who does the adult voiceover narration.

Bottom Line: The movie contains many beautiful scenes and touching moments. It's definitely worth your time, money, and effort. Unfortunately, few movies can do complete justice to the books they are made from. In Bless Me, Ultima, as in many films made from books, a good deal is of necessity left out. My best recommendation is to see the picture and then read the novel. Former First Lady Laura Bush placed the book on her Must Read List.

Film Rating:  PG-13 (violence, language)

My Rating: 3 stars