A film that takes place during the Spanish conquests of the Aztecs, but doesn't show Montezuma, has Cortez as a minor character, and shows only one human sacrifice??? Salvador Carrasco's The Other Conquest is a delving look at the melding of two cultures physically and spiritually with a microcosm view. Carrasco has gone through great pains (a seven year process fighting the Mexican powers that be) to make this film. Telling this story from an indigenous viewpoint and using a short, dark, thin, actor named Damian Delgado (who looks like he could have stepped right out of an Aztec temple 500 years ago); Carrasco defied the long held Mexican prejudice of their non European-half. The cultural diversity of both the Spanish and Aztecs can be seen. There is no stock Spainiard or Aztec look. Each person is physically diverse and individual even within a family.
The story is told through Topiltzin, a Aztec codex-writer, historian, and possible son of Montezuma. Through him we go on a spiritual journey very similar to madness as he must leave behind the old mother goddess for the new one (the Virgin Mary). His forced conversion and eventual acceptance of the new mother goddess causes a melding of the, already similar, faiths in his tormented mind. This melding of the old and the new also reflects the Spanish and Aztec blood mixing as well. The character of Father Diego full of religious fervor, seeks to save the "savage" soul of Topiltzin by conversion. Topiltzin is named Tomas after the apostle Thomas, the famous doubter and skeptic. What ensues is a battle of wills between a man determined to hold on to the quickly disappearing culture of his people and a man full of religious zeal unwilling to be defeated in his spiritual conquest. The line that sums up the film for me is from Topiltzin "You and I, deep inside share the same belief, Friar Diego, even though we come from different worlds. We live in all times and in all places. From the beginning we have been meeting in different ways. That is why you and I don't mind being locked up here together. Our encounter is inevitable... and eternal." In the end it is Diego who is converted and accepts the melding of the old and the new.
This film is a step forward for the film industry. A step forward in finally getting past relatable stereotypes and cliché. The one negative is that most of the action happens in the very beginning of the film and the last 3/4ths of the film is very cerebral. If you're not ready for it the transition can make the film a little boring at some parts. There is an inherent humor that runs through the film considering the subject matter, that may give you a look into Writer/Director Carrasco's mind and a look at what more this talented director promises to bring.
The story is told through Topiltzin, a Aztec codex-writer, historian, and possible son of Montezuma. Through him we go on a spiritual journey very similar to madness as he must leave behind the old mother goddess for the new one (the Virgin Mary). His forced conversion and eventual acceptance of the new mother goddess causes a melding of the, already similar, faiths in his tormented mind. This melding of the old and the new also reflects the Spanish and Aztec blood mixing as well. The character of Father Diego full of religious fervor, seeks to save the "savage" soul of Topiltzin by conversion. Topiltzin is named Tomas after the apostle Thomas, the famous doubter and skeptic. What ensues is a battle of wills between a man determined to hold on to the quickly disappearing culture of his people and a man full of religious zeal unwilling to be defeated in his spiritual conquest. The line that sums up the film for me is from Topiltzin "You and I, deep inside share the same belief, Friar Diego, even though we come from different worlds. We live in all times and in all places. From the beginning we have been meeting in different ways. That is why you and I don't mind being locked up here together. Our encounter is inevitable... and eternal." In the end it is Diego who is converted and accepts the melding of the old and the new.
This film is a step forward for the film industry. A step forward in finally getting past relatable stereotypes and cliché. The one negative is that most of the action happens in the very beginning of the film and the last 3/4ths of the film is very cerebral. If you're not ready for it the transition can make the film a little boring at some parts. There is an inherent humor that runs through the film considering the subject matter, that may give you a look into Writer/Director Carrasco's mind and a look at what more this talented director promises to bring.