Bless Me, Ultima

Based on the 1972 novel by Rudolfo Anaya (a favorite among high school English teachers), "Bless Me, Ultima" is an autobiographical coming-of-age tale set in 1940s New Mexico. The story is narrated by a now-adult Antonio reflecting back on the events that happened to him and his family when he was a little boy. This includes the arrival of Ultima (Miriam Colon), a sort of cultural shaman, who has come to live out her final days with his family. Weather-beaten and leather-skinned, Ultima is filled with old person wisdom and the power to both heal and cast out evil spirits. It is the latter, in particular, that ends up causing trouble with some of the people in the village, who suspect her of being a "bruja."

Written and directed by Carl Franklin, "Bless Me, Ultima" is what "To Kill a Mockingbird" might have been like had Harper Lee seen fit to imbue it with generous touches of Magic Realism (in that version Boo Radley probably would have been an actual ghost). As befits the genre that also brought us "Like Water for Chocolate," "Bless Me, Ultima" comes replete with incantations, magic spells and a Significant Owl that passively observes all the human activity, then swoops in at keys moments of the story to make its presence felt. Antonio is surrounded by adults who are steeped in religious superstition, and he is forced to bear witness to some pretty horrendous actions arising from that fact. But he also learns from Ultima that, while evil may indeed exist in the world, one can overcome it by becoming one with nature and the spirits that inhabit it.

The structure of "Bless Me, Ultima" tends to be episodic and choppy, a situation that leaves a number of plot lines under-served and a number of characters (Antonio's older brothers, for instance) underdeveloped. On the other hand, the wide-eyed Luke Ganalon makes for an appealing and charming Antonio, and Benito Martinez ("The Shield," "Sons of Anarchy") scores as the dad who dreams of one day moving his family to California.

Despite all the supernatural and preternatural touches, "Bless Me, Ultima" feels overall pretty familiar as coming-of-age tales go, but the unusual setting and Ganalon's performance earn it a mild recommendation.

Ultima is a healer who uses herbs to cure the sick, and she is also called upon to heal a young man who has been cursed by three evil sisters. Her grandson, Antonio, narrates the story throughout, and so we hear an adult voice with the visual of a little boy learning about the meaning of life from Ultima. The acting is excellent; with the two leads really carrying the movie from start to finish. The scenery of New Mexico is beautiful. The First Holy Communion in a small church brought back memories of my Catholic childhood. The doubts of Antonio are well written by someone with a logical outlook on religion. At times the movie became a bit too sentimental for my taste, but I still found it entertaining and worth recommending.

The film poster says that it was based on the controversial novel. I don't know anything about that, but I feel it was referred like that for the marketing purpose. Anyway, it was a good, an unexpectedly good movie that came my way. Being a fan of the kids movie I loved it very much. Not only that, the diverged story with often the plot that meets fantasy and reality at a certain quantity was told in a great quality. It might be a story of the kid, but many stuffs were cruel and violent that I doubt does it fit for children to watch. As it set during just after the second world war, I think the harsh side of the story was extremely essential. And also being true to the book.

The story was narrated from the character Antonio who takes us back to his childhood days. When he was a 7-year-old kid, he lived in a small village of the New Mexico. He was raised in a farmer family who was well respected in the town. One day an old lady called Ultima comes to join his family to live forth. Soon Antonio and Ultima begin to have a close relationship. As a medicine woman she teaches everything about mending and curing. And as a wise woman she resolves Antonio's doubts over the good and the bad. As a sudden a conflict between Ultima and a witch family from the town begin to take a wing. As a little boy nothing much he can do than witnessing which brings the end of his narration.

''A man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower. With only the sun, earth and water, making it blossom.''

It was from the first book of the four book series. And I am eager to know more about Antonio and his story of the different section of life. Hope they make those remaining 3 movies. This is a coming-of-age story and about a boy who is interested to become a priest which is well backed by his family. At the early age itself, he begins to learn the lessons with the help of the experienced hand. Kind of incredible journey of a little smart boy. The world he sees through his eyes was the story told about the human nature that collide between good and bad. The cast was not recognizable, probably I am seeing all of them for the first time. But the performances were very good. Apart from the boy and an old woman the remaining cast was also good. The movie was shot in the lovely places, captured beautiful dry landscapes, but there were a couple of scenes in the rain. Overall, a great movie, far from exhibiting the existing culture, but conflict remained the same. I feel like I must appreciate author as well this filmmaker to give such a nice movie.

I do not know the book. But the acting, the storytelling seems correct. And, in some measure, this is the problem because you expect more. Sure, the story is beautiful and an useful remind about significant things. Buut it remains a sketch. Yes, Miriam Colon proposes a good portrait of Ultima but she seems captive of the role. The consolations - the fly of owl and the significance in Romanian, my native language, for Ultima ( the last one ). Short, fortunatelly, correct film, unfortunately, only correct.

Having grown up in an environment similar to that which author Anaya describes and the movie attempts to portray, I was both elated and disappointed by the movie. Home base for me was the northern Rio Grande Valley, not the eastern N.M. *llanos* of Anaya's boyhood. I was about 7 years younger than 'tonio in the movie, so my experiences date from about 1951 forward. Things were still quite similar in N.M. back then to the earlier era that Anaya wrote about.

Of all the actors in the movie, the only one who came close to capturing a NM accent and cadence was 'tonio's father. All the others performed well, but to me they did not come across like born and bred New Mexicans. Actors pick up local accents and manners of speech all the time, but nearly all of the Hispanic actors in "Ultima" failed. It's like casting a native Baltimorean as a native of Maine--it stretches credibility. Both speak the language, but anyone from the northeast U.S. would hear the disconnect immediately.

"Bless Me Ultima" is a great story. Similar to Anaya'a family, we moved to Barelas in Albuquerque when I was in 7th grade. We rural New Mexicans of that era have all heard the *bruja* stories and are familiar with *curandera* practices. Ultimately those accounts were stories--told on late evenings when imaginations ran wild. Certainly the three sister witches in the movie added a sense of the spookiness and otherworldliness with which we all grew up, but that conceit only tangentially "gives readers a sense of the influence of indigenous cultural ways that are both authentic and distinct from the mainstream" as the book's entry in Wikipedia says.