The Brave One

In Mexico, peasant boy Leonardo saves a calf in a storm which killed the mother cow. He raises it lovingly as his own Gitano. The cow was a gift to his father from Don Alejandro and eventually Gitano as well. After the Don's death, Gitano is nevertheless auctioned off as part of the estate. Leonardo sets off to save his beloved bull before it is killed in a bullfighting ring.

It's an American film of a Mexico story with confusing writing credit. It did win the writing Oscar which has since been reissued to blacklisted writer Dalton Trumbo. I'm not sure if this deserved it, but awards are not exact science. I would have simplified the ownership back and forth in the first half of the movie. I would let the peasant family assume until the authorities take away the bull due to an unfair law interpretation. That would be a cleaner and more compelling story. I do really like the Mexican flavors despite this being an American film. The bullfighting may be cruel to some, but is nevertheless very compelling.

The King Brothers commissioned this screenplay from blacklisted Dalton Trumbo and, in 1957, it earned an Oscar for Best Story. A claim that the story, "Emilio and Bull" by Paul Rader, submitted to the Kings in 1951, was the basis for the script was settled out of court. Perhaps, inspiration was provided by Albert Lamorisse's magnificent French short "White Mane" (1953), another story of a small boy, who develops a rapport with a big animal, that adults also claim for commercial purposes. But this Technicolor, Cinemascope feature film, set in Mexico, with a score by Victor Young, received much more attention and praise. It is a pleasure to visit Mexico City in 1956, to see the handsome old cars and enter the ring with the bullfighters. Director Irving Rapper gets good performances from all, including the bull and Trumbo handles the rising suspense masterfully.

When I read the summary for "The Brave One", I wasn't eager to watch the film. After all, it sounded like a sappy movie targeted towards kids. Boy, was I wrong!

The story surprised me in many ways. Instead of making it in Hollywood, filming it in black & white, and having all sorts of negative or paternalistic Mexican stereotypes, the story managed to have none of these. Instead, it's obvious someone at RKO really cared about the project and a lot of love and attention was given in order to make this more than just another Hollywood film.

Soon after the story begins, a cow is injured and is dying. But fortunately, her baby survives and is raised by Leonardo (Michel Ray). The boy loves that little calf and over time they become inseparable. Unfortunately, the bull is also destined for the bull ring one day and much of the story shows the boy's efforts to save his beloved Gitano.

While the story might sound sappy, it was very well executed. I also appreciate that the Mexican people are shown in a very good light...like real people, not stereotypes. The story also ended wonderfully...and you'll need to have some Kleenex nearby just in case. Well worth seeing, but also NOT a film for young kids...or, better yet, see the movie with them. This is because the bullfighting scenes, while sanitized, are still pretty gory and disturbing.

This is the story of a young Mexican peasant boy who comes across a cow that is dying beneath a fallen tree branch and saves the calf she is birthing; a strong bond is established between the boy and the calf, a bond that persists as the calf turns into an aggressive bull that is being groomed for the the bullring. This bellicose beast is referred to as being "brave" in this film.

Ownership of the bull is a subject of debate throughout the film and at one point the boy gains an audience with the Mexican President to try to resolve the issue. Outside of the story being utterly preposterous, I had no problem with it.

This was filmed in Mexico in CinemaScope using highly saturated colors. There are some beautiful scenes of rural Mexico as well as a tour of Mexico City. The sweeping score by Victor Young invites grand emotion, but it stuck me as too exuberant, in the style of many scores of 1950s movies. The acting is uniformly wooden.

The highlights of the film are the captivating, and extended, bull fighting scenes. No matter what your opinion is of this controversial sport, it will be hard for you not to recognize its appeal based on these scenes. When an American visitor to Mexico expresses her dismay about the sport, her Mexican host notes that boxing and fox hunting are accepted, so why not bullfighting? He goes on to say that Mexicans know that death is never very far away, but that Americans are outraged by pain and, as for death, they may pass a law against it at any time.

What attracted me to this movie was seeing that it is based on an Oscar-winning story by Dalton Trumbo. The movie credits the story to one "Robert Rich," who was a front for Trumbo during the period of his being blacklisted during the McCarthy era (when Trumbo appeared before a Congressional committee and was threatened with a Contempt of Congress citation for not answering questions, he told the committee that that would be appropriate, since he had nothing but contempt for them). After having seen other movies with strong themes based on Trumbo screenplays, such as "Lonely are the Brave," "Papillon," and "Spartacus," I was looking forward to this film, but it does not live up to the quality of those. I was puzzled as to how Trumbo could have lapsed into such sentimentality, but then it occurred to me that he must have identified with the bull who defied attempts to be constrained and ultimately prevailed, just as Trumbo himself.

"The Brave One" is about a peasant boy who runs away to Mexico City to save his brave bull, Gitano... Irving Rapper directed the beautiful simple story of Leonardo and his attachment to his pet bull with understanding...

"The Brave One" has an authentic look in the bullring, on ranches and in Mexican streets...

"The Brave One" has humor: When Gitano, becoming a remarkable bull with a fine physical construction, proves his spirit to Carlos Navarro's red car...

"The Brave One" has strange attachment: The charge of the noble bull against a ferocious jaguar to protect Leonardo's life...

"The Brave One" has determination: In front of the Monument of Mexican President Benito Juarez, the persisting and exhausted boy got a great idea to go and meet the President, the only authority that could save his bull...

"The Brave One" has bravery: Gitano offered to the public a magnificent spectacle of skill, grace and courage...

"The Brave One" has suspense: When the 'moment of truth' is at hand, the little Leonardo, all anguished, couldn't see Gitano in front of his 'Hour of Truth.'

"The Brave One" has a terrific climax: Clamorous screams from the public are heard stronger and stronger... Handkerchiefs are moving in the air with a petition to the president of the bullring...

The film covers many highlights as the weaning and branding of the bulls and how they are tested in the open fields; la Fiesta Brava filling resplendently in the gold and pink brocades of Mexico, mixing with the elegance of swirling capes; the father of Leonardo (Rodolfo Hoyos) trying to make Leonardo understand that the pet bull is born to die in the ring—the reason of his life...

With a tremendous score and an outstanding color photography of exceptional beauty, Jack Cardiff realized the most beautiful and expressive scenery of the Mexican landscapes... His movie had the flavor of the bullfight game and its devotees and hangers-on...

As a little boy, I loved everything about this passionate film superbly directed and acted... Such emotion as I remember seeing it for the first time with my dear parents and brothers a long time ago in Beirut, Lebanon...