The Milagro Beanfield War
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| The Milagro Beanfield War | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Poster |
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| Directed by | Robert Redford |
| Produced by | Moctesuma Esparza Gary Hendler Charles Mulvehill Robert Redford |
| Written by | John Nichols David Ward |
| Starring | Christopher Walken Rubén Blades Julie Carmen Chick Vennera Sonia Braga |
| Music by | Dave Grusin |
| Cinematography | Robbie Greenberg |
| Editing by | Dede Allen Jim Miller |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
| Release date(s) | March 18, 1988 |
| Running time | 117 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Gross revenue | $13,825,794 |
| All Movie Guide profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Milagro Beanfield War is a 1988 American film drama based on the John Nichols novel of the same name. It was directed by Robert Redford and the screenplay was by Nichols and David S. Ward.[1]
Filmed on location in Truchas, New Mexico, the film is set in the fictional rural Northern New Mexico town of Milagro, population 426. As with a good part of the rural American Southwest, Milagro is a predominantly Hispanic and Catholic town, comprising of a largely interrelated population.
The picture tells of one man's quixotic struggle as he defends his small beanfield and his community against much larger business and New Mexico state political interests.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Nearly 500 residents of an agricultural community in the mountains of northern New Mexico face a crisis almost without a stir, until a young, unemployed handy man with a family of four begins to irrigate his father's parched beanfield.
State politics and big business interests have agreed in a backroom deal to usurp the lifeblood of the town (water for crops) in order to pave the way for a land buy-out that threatens the way of life of the residents who live in Milagro, and whose families established the town over 300 years ago. Due to the new laws that divert water for use by big businesses only, Joe Mondragon is unable to make a living farming. In a reflection of actual United States water laws, Mondragon is not allowed to divert water from an irrigation ditch that runs past his property as that water is for property owners with priority.
Frustrated, and unable to find work, Joe visits his father's field. He happens upon a tag that reads "prohibited" covering a valve that diverts water from his fields. He kicks the valve, unknowingly breaking it and letting water flood his fields. He decides to "sleep on it" before repairing the valve.
The rest of the story is an escalation of events between power interests on all sides. It is a story of the struggle between different perspectives, most have their own idea of what is best for Milagro, and all consist of various levels of selfishness.
At the heart, this is a war of competing values and competing definitions of what makes a community rich.
[edit] Themes
The major theme of the story is the threat of big business interests to a small community. The central character, Joe Mondragon, is tempted with offers of good paying work if he plows under his beanfield.
Activist Ruby Archuletta (Sonia Braga) lays out the calculus of big business takeovers: if we sell out jobs and development happens, land values will rise, but so will taxes, and soon the older community will dry up because the residents will be unable to pay the higher taxes, and, as a consequence have to splinter off.
Another theme running throughout the story is sacrifice. The community, caught in the logic of business, has all but given up; many have sold their land already by the start of the story, except one holdout -- Joe Mondragon. As the escalation of events brings Joe Mondragon and Amarante Cordova, the oldest member of Milagro, to a precarious gun battle, Amarante is shot and the outsider interests seize the moment to arrest Joe on attempted murder charges.
The movie highlights the theme of the diminishing ideal of community in a world where simple communities are rendered nonviable by the expansion of business interests.
In addition, film critic Richard Scheib believes The Milagro Beanfield War is "one of the first American films to fall into the Latin American tradition of magical realism. This is a genre that usually involves an earthily naturalistic, often highly romanticized, blend of the supernatural and whimsical."[2]
[edit] Critical reception
The picture received mixed reviews.
Film critic Vincent Canby, writing for The New York Times believes the film missed its mark. He wrote, "The screenplay, by David Ward and John Nichols, based on Mr. Nichols's novel, is jammed with underdeveloped, would-be colorful characters, including a philisophical Chicano angel, who face a succession of fearful confrontations with the law that come to nothing. The narrative is a veritable fiesta of anticlimaxes, from the time the sun sets at the beginning of the film until it sets, yet again, behind the closing credits."[3]
Yet, critic Richard Scheib liked the film's direction and the characters portrayed. He wrote. "Redford arrays a colourfully earthy ensemble of characters. The plot falls into place with lazy, deceptive ease. Redford places it up against a gently barbed level of social commentary, although this is something that comes surprisingly light-heartedly. There’s an enchantment to the film – at times it is a more successful version of the folklore fable that Francis Ford Coppola's Finian's Rainbow (1968) tried to be but failed."[4]
[edit] Cast and ratings
| Ratings | |
|---|---|
| Australia: | M |
| Canada (Ontario): | 14A |
| Finland: | K-12 |
| Iceland: | 12 |
| Singapore: | PG |
| Sweden: | 15 |
| United Kingdom: | 15 |
| United States: | R |
- Chick Vennera as Joe Mondragon
- Sonia Braga as Ruby Archuleta
- Daniel Stern as Herbie Platt, sociology student
- John Heard as Charlie Bloom, newspaper publisher and lawyer
- Julie Carmen as Nancy Mondragon
- James Gammon as Shorty
- Rubén Blades as Sheriff Bernie Montoya
- Christopher Walken as federal agent Kyril Montana
- Carlos Riquelme as Amarante Cordova
- Freddy Fender as Sammy Cantú, mayor
- Melanie Griffith as Flossie Devine
- Richard Bradford as Ladd Devine
- Jerry Hardin as Emerson Capps
[edit] Awards
Wins
- Academy Awards: Oscar; Best Music, Original Score, Dave Grusin; 1989.
- Political Film Society: PFS Award; Democracy; 1989.
Nominations
- Golden Globes: Golden Globe; Best Original Score - Motion Picture, Dave Grusin; 1989.
- Political Film Society: PFS Award; Exposé; 1989.
[edit] References
- ^ The Milagro Beanfield War at the Internet Movie Database.
- ^ Scheib, Richard. Scheib's film review archived at the The Science Fiction, Horror and Fantasy Film Review.
- ^ Canby, Vincent. The New York Time, film review, March 18, 1988.
- ^ Scheib, Richard, ibid.
