The Children of Sanchez

Dark and dismal neorealism meets dreary film noir in the 1978 The Children of Sanchez, which, despite its interesting cast proves a most disappointing Mexican-American collaboration thanks mainly to an over-indulgent director (Hall Bartlett) and screenwriters (Cesare Zavattini and Bartlett) who give Anthony Quinn leave to over-act in numerous, long-held close-ups. He's even allowed to upstage Dolores Del Rio in her big scene (her final film too). And I couldn't even spot Katy Jurado! Fortunately, the lovely Lupita Ferrer gets a fair innings, but Gabriel Figueroa's photography does not come off well in either of the two DVD versions. Quinn and Del Rio speak their own dialogue in the Trinity disc, but in Vanguard's Spanish edition, they are both dubbed. Oddly, the sound mix in the Spanish release is far superior to the American.

This isn't the sort of movie anyone should watch for a good time. This is the sort of movie academics or Mexican cultural enthusiasts should watch to get an insight into Mexican life in the 70's. I'm currently living in Mexico, and to some degree many traits of the characters still exist in the people today. After having lived here and taken classes on the culture I can see where every trait comes from and it in fact was interesting because of that. It starts off with a slow procession because that is what many people still do during the week leading up to December 12th (Day of the Virgin of Guadalupe). The religious beginning is a god start to showing how the rest of the characters are affected by their faith. Women are expected to be pure and pious and so the over aggressive men feel like they have to maintain those characteristics in the women. It also is about the progress Mexican women were trying to make in their lives at the time whether it was defying their families wishes and marrying the "wrong man" or leaving their family all together. Basically, it is a movie about a poor family and a power hungry man who suddenly gets a step up in society. Unless you are into cultural diversity or old Mexico... rent Aliens or something because yes, you will be bored.

While most actresses face the awkward age in their forties, when Hollywood doesn't know how to cast them in romantic leads anymore, most men face it in their sixties. Some men don't want to play grandfathers; others embrace the next phase of their careers. For Anthony Quinn, he continued to play the overbearing patriarch in 1978 just as he did in 1958. The only difference was that in the late seventies, he was in low-budget Mexican dramas instead of A-tier Hollywood flicks.

In The Children of Sanchez, he's a tyrant at home with everyone from his daughter to his mother-in-law. He wants to be the provider and the head of the house, but he has to face old age, poverty, and a changing social culture. His daughter is headstrong and wants freedom; he believes her duty is to support him and then support her husband. Although I love Anthony Quinn and watched the entire movie to support him, I don't really recommend it for his fans. In one scene, Tony is in bed with his girlfriend. She lets out a frustrated sigh and asks, "Are you done already?" I felt so sorry for him! It's virile, sexy Anthony Quinn, and his bedroom skills are getting insulted? This isn't the sort of scene the ladies who loved him in the 1950s want to see him in. But yes, everyone gets old, and we can hope that he was glad to still headline his movies.

First this is not a movie for people seeking action. This is a movie that is for the most part the a character study of a poor man in Mexico. Consider it a bit like and there will be blood except that it doesn't have the greed of one man holding everything together instead it has the religious duty of keeping his family together as the glue.

I suspect a large problem with the movie was the music. Prior to the movies release Chuck Mangione performed the entire soundtrack on a PBS show live from wolf creek... while this managed to generate some buzz on the movie it also resulted in false expectations. The upbeat music did not prepare people for the drudgery that was the life of a poor Mexican. Had people viewed it as a life of a poor man, they might have viewed it differently. The acting by Quinn is perfect.

Its worth a look but make sure your in the right frame of mind.

Oh, boy. My brother is a jazz trumpet player and saw this film a year or so ago because of the Mangione score. It instantly became his least favorite film OF ALL TIME. He would groan and dry-sob over it, telling me how unbelievably poor it was, and even he admitted that the score matched nothing that happens in the film.

Being a lover of truly bad cinema, I gave this the old college try, despite his warnings that it was intolerable and seemed to go on forever. He was oh-so-right.

This heaving waste heap begins with a snail paced procession of Catholics making a pilgrimage through the Mexican desert, bearing a cross and all. Mangione's 'accompanying' music is incredibly upbeat and fast, sounding like it would be more appropriate during a car chase on 'CHiPs!' It reminded me of an effect that Fellini goes after intentionally in '8 1/2,' where you see very old, slow and fragile people parade by a panning camera to Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries."

The first true sign that this movie has serious trouble is the fact that 17 minutes into the show, they are still giving you subtitles, explaining who characters are! There are so many people in this movie that it would be near impossible to know who they were in one viewing, let alone with sub-titles (i.e., SO-AND-SO SANCHEZ: son of Jesus, or SO-AND-SO SANCHEZ: daughter of Jesus). This points to two things - the screenplay is weak beyond the shame of such a gimmick (and trust me, it is!), and/or the producers panicked when the film was done and realized they should've chopped half the characters from the book right out of the film. The absolute most ludicrous moment comes when, at the end of a long day at work, late at night Sanchez comes up to a door in the city. Where could he possibly be? At home, of course, ready for food and bed. Then the subtitle comes: HOME OF SANCHEZ. What, did you think people were that STUPID?! This is like a gag out of 'Airplane!'

The film's production values are that of low budget 70's tv, the acting is terrible (except Quinn, he's just Quinn), and the ending is not to be believed. This thing never seems like it will end - I first checked to see how long it had been running, hoping it was almost over, at the 1 hr 7 min mark! Absolutely, 100% deplorable.