Bless Me, Ultima

Bless Me, Ultima

A look into of a Curandera and a young boy.

    

Ultima's Familar

Bless Me, Ultima is a movie that's been long over due in a sense that it has brought another aspect of magick and witchcraft into film world and with an interesting storyline at that. It's based off the book by Rudolfo A. Anaya. The movie is a narration and it focuses around a young boy named Antonio Márez (Luke Ganalon), who's six years old. He spies on his parents who talk about an elderly woman named Ultima (Miriam Colon) who's coming to live with them. Though he doesn't know who she is he's somewhat excited of the idea of Ultima staying with them.

After a strange dream, Antonio soon discovers that Ultima was his mother's Midwife and that she's a Curandera. Okay I'm going to stop here and give you a explanation of (Curanderismo is the practice of folk medicine, a healing art heavily influenced by the knowledge and ancient religions of indigenous peoples. Curanderismo is associated with the treatment of both physical and supernatural illnesses. When Spanish Catholics arrived in the New World, they regarded curanderismo as a form of witchcraft and often killed those who practiced it. However, over the course of time, the intermixing between Spaniards and native people produced a mixed religious culture. ) (Spark Notes) Okay carrying on. Antonio who's fortunate to have a large loving family and parents tries to live up to both is Mother's dreams of being a Priest by studying the bible and being a farmer like his father. Though deep down Antonio wants to be a Curandero just like Ultima. Antonio is fascinated by Ultima's kindness and craft.

The story continues as Antonio goes to school and meets his blond hair friend named Florence (an Atheist), goes to Sunday School, and helps his family with the farm. Something bad soon happens with another villager's son and becomes gravely ill. Ultima soon travels out to comfort and cure him. She soon discovers that the young man had wondered around at night to search for a few missing cows and walked into three young women, the daughters of Tenorio (Castulo Guerra) performing dark witchcraft, in another nearby town in El Puerto. Soon after the young man became ill. Ultima prepares herself to cure the young man and gives a warning to Tenorio to tell his daughters to release the curse or they will regret it. Insulted by this request Tenorio laughs it off and threatens if anything happens to his daughters that he will come and kill Ultima himself. Ultima soon returns to the young man and cures him and buries the strange black thing the young man coughed up at the site the daughters had did the spell. A while after the father who had thanked her for saving his sons life soon shuns Ultima as if she had nothing for him. Antonio soon realizes that the church and most of his village Las Pasturas and El Puerto frown upon Ultima's craft. Meanwhile Ultima makes three wax dolls and binds the young women so they can longer harm anyone again. However a few days after one of the wax dolls melts and Antonio and Ultima become worried.

Bless Me, Ultima is one of those films that has a lot to offer and makes the viewer think and question life as we see through the eyes of a young, wise, and intelligent you boy. With great acting, great scenery, and

great authenticity of WWII time period and Hispanic culture in the US. This movie is not like any other movies about witchcraft. There is no special effects in it. It's one of the realest interpretation of how magick and superstition works. I highly recommend people to watch and give it a shot. It might be a little harder to connect or understand some scenes if your do know something about Spanish nor the culture. Though all in all the movie is well done and fresh.

Title: Bless Me, Ultima

Length: 106 min

Ratings:PG-13

Year: 2013

Director: Carl Franklin

Starring: Luke Ganalon, Miriam Colon, Castulo Guerra, Joaquín Cosio

Over All Score: A+ Refreshing and Accurately Cultural.

Entertaining: B+ It's a bit high considering the film is mostly a drama. Viewers of the Hispanic or Latino culture will enjoy and understand the movie more.

Cinematography: A Has outstanding scenery of New Mexico's landscape.

Storyline: A+ Original and well thought out has a bit of everything in the story to balance the darker side of the drama out. Another magical flick without crazy special effects.

Acting: A The choice of casting down to their acting were down pact. The only thing is that there Spanish is very clear.

Music: C There was nothing special about the music. The score was decent though since this is a drama no musical soundtrack is available.