Milagro - The war in the bean field

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Movie
German title Milagro - The war in the bean field
Original title The Milagro Beanfield War
Country of production United States
original language English
Publishing year 1988
length 113 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Robert Redford
script John Nichols ,
David S. Ward
production Moctesuma Esparza ,
Robert Redford
music Dave Grusin
camera Robbie Greenberg
cut Dede Allen ,
Jim Miller
occupation

Milagro - The War in the Beanfield (Original title: The Milagro Beanfield War ) is an American comedy film from 1988 . Directed by Robert Redford and written by John Nichols and David S. Ward based on the novel Milagro ( The Milagro Beanfield War ) by Nichols.

action

During the opening credits you can see a Latino running through the fields and dancing.

Real estate entrepreneur Ladd Devine plans to build a vacation home in Milagro, New Mexico . It will be the largest facility of its kind in the state. One of the locals, Joe Mondragon, is applying for work on the site. Although he is ready to do any job, he is not accepted.

Mondragon speaks to his neighbor, an elderly man who knew Joe's late father. He complains of the drought and decides to illegally take the water he does not own from a nearby stream to irrigate his fields after he accidentally opened the inflow.

The news about his deed spreads quickly in the place. Ruby Archuleta, the owner of a gas station and auto repair shop, looks at the field and smiles. She visits the socially critical lawyer and publisher of the local magazine Charlie Bloom. Archuleta convinces Bloom to write about the events in the magazine.

The sociologist Herbie Platt comes from a university on the east coast. He has a scholarship and wants to research the customs of the population. The first local resident, whom he apologizes to, replies accepted and drives away. Mayor Sammy Cantu says that maybe someone informed someone , but not himself . Finally, Mondragon agrees to provide Platt with shelter in exchange for help in the fields.

Mondragon owns the only piece of land on the proposed facility that does not yet belong to Devine. The governor of the state hires Kyril Montana to manage the crisis. All copies of the printed magazine Blooms are bought up by a volunteer from Devines. The man wants to burn it, but the wind spreads the magazine all over the place. A citizens' meeting is called there. Some citizens are on Mondragon's side, some are hoping for jobs that the facility would bring. Mondragon is proposed as president of a committee, but he doesn't want to be president.

Bloom is arrested at the end of the meeting for inciting a riot . Archuleta doesn't get him out of jail until the next day. Bloom is mad at her.

The employees of the state forest administration come up with the idea that they can confiscate Mondragon's cow if they drive her into the state forest. Mondragon comes and picks them up without paying the $ 100 fine due. The foresters want to stop him, but a few local residents keep them in the sights of their rifles. Sheriff Bernabe Montoya arrives and de-escalates the situation. As a compromise, he suggests that the cow stayed so briefly in the state forest that it did not eat state grass.

Mondragon is offered work on the construction site as a foreman. He wants to take the job, but his wife and Archuleta are against it.

In the following period, numerous local residents stock up on ammunition for their firearms. One of Devine's henchmen begins leveling the bean field with a bulldozer, but is driven away by Amarante. During the action, the domestic pig Lupita is shot and there is also an exchange of fire between Joe Mondragon and Amarante, in which the latter is injured. Joe escapes into the wilderness and is pursued by Kyril Montana, but receives help from Shorty.

Joe returns to start harvesting beans. He is arrested in the bean field and there is a trial of strength between the police and the harvest workers from the village. Montana is called off by the governor. The investment in the holiday complex is tipped. The locals celebrate in the bean field, Archuleta and Bloom kiss each other.

backgrounds

The film was shot in Espanola, Los Alamos , Santa Fe and Truchas, all in New Mexico . It grossed approximately $ 13.8 million in US cinemas .

Reviews

Roger Ebert wrote in the Chicago Sun-Times of April 1, 1988 that the film did not depict the conflict situation “ in black and white ”. Some local residents would support popular resistance, some would fight, and some would remain neutral. It could be a problem that the director sympathized with the traditions of the Spanish population as well as with the needs of progress. Ebert praised the portrayal of Sonia Braga.

The lexicon of international films wrote that the film kept a balance between “ myth ” and “ reality ” and offered “ good entertainment with a thoughtful undertone ”.

Awards

Dave Grusin won in 1989 for Best Original Score the Oscar ; he was nominated in 1989 for the Golden Globe Award . The film won the 1989 Political Film Society Award for Democracy and was nominated for the Political Film Society Award for Exposé .

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Film review by Roger Ebert
  2. ↑ Milagro - The war in the bean field. In: Lexicon of International Films . Film service , accessed March 2, 2017 .Template: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used