User Reviews

First off, this is a 30 hour mini-series broadcast on Mexican television in the late 80s. The unedited series is presented in the boxed DVD set. The story covers the history of the second phase of the Mexican revolution from the presidency of Carranza through that of Cardenas. The historical novella is fictionalized by presenting the story through the eyes of the family and acquaintances of a general who somehow manages to stay close enough to the powers that be throughout to provide a window into the whirlwind of Mexican politics at the time. This is valuable piece of historical fiction because it provides the viewer with a good picture of how educated Mexicans tend to perceive their own history. The fictional family at the center of the story helps provide a bit of relief from what would otherwise be a rather dry and complicated journey through the twists and turns of the latter years of the Mexican revolution. The writers actually do a pretty good job of working the fiction and the history together, presenting most of the drama at times when the history is moving a bit more slowly. The DVD transfer is poor quality. I don't know if the series was filmed or taped, but the image on the DVD is of extremely poor resolution with a great deal of digital conversion artifacts. The score is terrible. Production value throughout is mediocre to bad. The writing and the acting and the concept make the series valuable, in spite of these shortcomings. The series is readily available throughout Mexico (e.g. Sanborns, Walmart). It is not subtitled in any language.