Men with Guns
Encyclopedia
Men with Guns is a 1997 American drama film
written and directed by John Sayles
. The executive producers were Lou Gonda and Jody Patton, and the cast included Federico Luppi, Damián Delgado
and Mandy Patinkin
.
Set in an unnamed Central
or South America
n country, it is the story of one man's discovery of what actually happened in the political history of his nation as well as his students. It was filmed in Mexico
and most of the crew were Mexican.
Dr. Fuentes (Federico Luppi) is a medical professor near his retirement. He has taught a group that trains young people to provide health care to poverty-stricken citizens in the outlying hill country, where small agricultural communities struggle to survive. He's also been largely ignorant of the political events in his country.
Fuentes has recently heard rumors that his former students are lost and possibly dead, so he musters up the courage and travels into the outlands to investigate. As Fuentes digs into the jungle he discovers that his students have been menaced by many men with guns. This indicates military forces who use torture and execution to intimidate people. He discovers that the guerillas from opposition political groups are only marginally less aggressive.
On his journey he accumulates a few travelling companions: Padre Portillo (Damián Alcázar
), a defrocked priest who's lost his faith; Domingo (Damián Delgado
), a deserter from the Army without a country; Conejo (Dan Rivera Gonzalez), an orphan who survives by stealing; and Graciela (Tania Cruz), a woman who has turned mute after she was raped by the military.
Fuentes finds that his journey is revealing but also perilous the deeper he ventures. He ends up travelling into the hill country, looking for his last student, who is rumored to be living in an Eden
ic village high in the mountains, safe from the violence which has engulfed the countryside. As the doctor and his companions get closer to this half-mythical place, the journey becomes a quest for both safety and an assurance for Fuentes that his life has had some meaning.
John Sayles' films tend to be politically aware and social concerns are a theme running through most of his work. This film's idea came from his friends, one of whom was the novelist Francisco Goldman
. He had an uncle who was a doctor in Guatemala
and was involved in an international health program. A few years later he came to find out that most of his students, whom he had sent off to serve as rural doctors, had been murdered by the government that supported the program.
Sayles does not name the country in the film, and the music he uses is quite eclectic and not tied to any specific Latin American country. This is because Sayles didn't want people to think that it can "only happen in El Salvador
, that can only happen in Guatemala or Mexico". He felt the film has universal overtones and the events portrayed in the story could have happened anywhere on the planet. It should be noted, however, that logically the setting cannot be Mexico, because during an argument with Mandy Patinkin's character, Fuentes claims that the human sacrifices the tourist claims took place in Fuentes' country actually occurred in Mexico, committed by "foreigners from the north."
Filming locations
The movie was filmed entirely in Mexico
, in 40 locations, including: Mexico City
; Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
; Pueblo Naranjal, Xonotzintla, Soledad Atzompa, Zongolica, and Jalapilla, all in Veracruz
; Palenque
and San José Babilonia, both in Chiapas
.
, Colorado
, the weekend of August 29 - September 1, 1997. A few days later its international debut was at the Toronto Film Festival on September 5, 1997. It opened in the United States
on March 27, 1998.
The film was featured at various international film festivals, including: the Deauville Film Festival, France
; the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival, Spain
; the Edinburgh International Film Festival
, Scotland
; the Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland
; the Reykjavik Film Festival, Iceland
; and others.
, film critic writing for the Chicago Sun-Times
, liked the film, and wrote, "Men With Guns is immensely moving and sad, and yet because it dares so much, it is an exhilarating film. It frees itself from specific stories about this villain or that strategy, to stand back and look at the big picture: at societies in collapse because power has been concentrated in the hands of small men made big with guns."
Critic Jack Mathews liked Sayles straightforward unadorned style, and he wrote, "Men With Guns is a slow-paced trip, with a lot of translated conversation, and Sayles keeps it pure. The actors are said to be speaking in four dialects, and there's nothing about the film, other than the ill-conceived couple (Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody) used as comic relief, to give away its American origin. Sayles has never been a visual stylist, and his latest film is as straightforward and plot-bound as any of the earlier ones."
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
reported that 88% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on twenty-five reviews.
An original motion picture soundtrack was released by Rykodisc on February 24, 1998. The CD contains twenty-three tracks (00:43:10), and includes songs heard in the film and the film score written by Mason Daring
.
The music is universally Latin
in flavor. The various styles include: cumbia
s, the Colombia
n dance music; a brass band; an orquestra, of Mayan culture; Peru
vian Susana Baca
singing a cappella
; El General's
funky hip-hop; and Mason Daring's bass marimba and Spanish guitar-driven score.
Nominated
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
written and directed by John Sayles
John Sayles
John Thomas Sayles is an American independent film director, screenwriter and author.-Early life:Sayles was born in Schenectady, New York, the son of Mary , a teacher, and Donald John Sayles, a school administrator. He was raised Catholic and took to labeling himself "a Catholic atheist"...
. The executive producers were Lou Gonda and Jody Patton, and the cast included Federico Luppi, Damián Delgado
Damián Delgado
Damián Delgado starred in the critically acclaimed Mexican film, The Other Conquest and co-starred in John Sayles's film, Men With Guns. His other movie credits include These Onions Don't Make Me Cry, A Corner of Paradise and Under a Spell. Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Delgado has appeared frequently on...
and Mandy Patinkin
Mandy Patinkin
Mandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
.
Set in an unnamed Central
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
or South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n country, it is the story of one man's discovery of what actually happened in the political history of his nation as well as his students. It was filmed in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
and most of the crew were Mexican.
Plot
Fuentes has recently heard rumors that his former students are lost and possibly dead, so he musters up the courage and travels into the outlands to investigate. As Fuentes digs into the jungle he discovers that his students have been menaced by many men with guns. This indicates military forces who use torture and execution to intimidate people. He discovers that the guerillas from opposition political groups are only marginally less aggressive.
On his journey he accumulates a few travelling companions: Padre Portillo (Damián Alcázar
Damián Alcázar
Damián Alcázar is a Mexican actor.To an English-speaking audience, he is probably best known as Lord Sopespian in the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.- Filmography :...
), a defrocked priest who's lost his faith; Domingo (Damián Delgado
Damián Delgado
Damián Delgado starred in the critically acclaimed Mexican film, The Other Conquest and co-starred in John Sayles's film, Men With Guns. His other movie credits include These Onions Don't Make Me Cry, A Corner of Paradise and Under a Spell. Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Delgado has appeared frequently on...
), a deserter from the Army without a country; Conejo (Dan Rivera Gonzalez), an orphan who survives by stealing; and Graciela (Tania Cruz), a woman who has turned mute after she was raped by the military.
Fuentes finds that his journey is revealing but also perilous the deeper he ventures. He ends up travelling into the hill country, looking for his last student, who is rumored to be living in an Eden
Eden
Eden may refer to:* Garden of Eden, a place described in the biblical book of Genesis-Film and television:* Eden , a character from the Aladdin television series...
ic village high in the mountains, safe from the violence which has engulfed the countryside. As the doctor and his companions get closer to this half-mythical place, the journey becomes a quest for both safety and an assurance for Fuentes that his life has had some meaning.
Cast
- Federico Luppi as Dr. Fuentes
- Damián DelgadoDamián DelgadoDamián Delgado starred in the critically acclaimed Mexican film, The Other Conquest and co-starred in John Sayles's film, Men With Guns. His other movie credits include These Onions Don't Make Me Cry, A Corner of Paradise and Under a Spell. Born in Oaxaca, Mexico, Delgado has appeared frequently on...
as Domingo, the soldier - Dan Rivera Gonzalez as Conejo, the boy
- Tania Cruz as Graciela, the mute girl
- Damián AlcázarDamián AlcázarDamián Alcázar is a Mexican actor.To an English-speaking audience, he is probably best known as Lord Sopespian in the 2008 film The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian.- Filmography :...
as Padre Portillo, the priest - Mandy PatinkinMandy PatinkinMandel Bruce "Mandy" Patinkin is an award-winning American actor of stage and screen and a tenor vocalist. He is a noted interpreter of the musical works of Stephen Sondheim, and is best-known for his work in musical theatre, originating iconic roles such as Georges Seurat in Sunday in the Park...
as Andrew - Kathryn Grody as Harriet
- Iguandili Lopez as Mother
- Nandi Luna Ramirez as Daughter
- Rafael De Quevedo as General
- Roverto Sosa as Bravo
- David VillalpandoDavid VillalpandoDavid Villalpando is a Mexican actor. His break out role was in the film El Norte ....
as Gum Person
Background
Principal photography was done in thirty-seven shooting days in January and February 1997 and filmed in over forty locations.John Sayles' films tend to be politically aware and social concerns are a theme running through most of his work. This film's idea came from his friends, one of whom was the novelist Francisco Goldman
Francisco Goldman
Francisco Goldman is an American novelist, journalist, and Allen K. Smith Professor of Literature and Creative Writing, Trinity College. He is workshop director at , the journalism school for Latin-America created by Gabriel García Márquez...
. He had an uncle who was a doctor in Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
and was involved in an international health program. A few years later he came to find out that most of his students, whom he had sent off to serve as rural doctors, had been murdered by the government that supported the program.
Sayles does not name the country in the film, and the music he uses is quite eclectic and not tied to any specific Latin American country. This is because Sayles didn't want people to think that it can "only happen in El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, that can only happen in Guatemala or Mexico". He felt the film has universal overtones and the events portrayed in the story could have happened anywhere on the planet. It should be noted, however, that logically the setting cannot be Mexico, because during an argument with Mandy Patinkin's character, Fuentes claims that the human sacrifices the tourist claims took place in Fuentes' country actually occurred in Mexico, committed by "foreigners from the north."
Filming locations
The movie was filmed entirely in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, in 40 locations, including: Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
; Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl, or more commonly Ciudad Neza, is a city and municipality of Mexico State adjacent to the northeast corner of Mexico's Federal District: it is thus part of the Mexico City Metropolitan Area. It was named after Nezahualcoyotl, the Acolhua poet and king of nearby Texcoco, and...
; Pueblo Naranjal, Xonotzintla, Soledad Atzompa, Zongolica, and Jalapilla, all in Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...
; Palenque
Palenque
Palenque was a Maya city state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date back to 100 BC to its fall around 800 AD...
and San José Babilonia, both in Chiapas
Chiapas
Chiapas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Chiapas is one of the 31 states that, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 118 municipalities and its capital city is Tuxtla Gutierrez. Other important cites in Chiapas include San Cristóbal de las...
.
Distribution
Men with Guns was first presented at the Telluride Film FestivalTelluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival was started in 1974 by Bill and Stella Pence, Tom Luddy and Jim Card in the town of Telluride, Colorado, United States. It is operated by the National Film Preserve....
, Colorado
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
, the weekend of August 29 - September 1, 1997. A few days later its international debut was at the Toronto Film Festival on September 5, 1997. It opened in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
on March 27, 1998.
The film was featured at various international film festivals, including: the Deauville Film Festival, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
; the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
; the Edinburgh International Film Festival
Edinburgh International Film Festival
The Edinburgh International Film Festival is an annual fortnight of cinema screenings and related events taking place each June. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
; the Helsinki International Film Festival, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
; the Reykjavik Film Festival, Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
; and others.
Critical reception
Roger EbertRoger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
, film critic writing for the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
, liked the film, and wrote, "Men With Guns is immensely moving and sad, and yet because it dares so much, it is an exhilarating film. It frees itself from specific stories about this villain or that strategy, to stand back and look at the big picture: at societies in collapse because power has been concentrated in the hands of small men made big with guns."
Critic Jack Mathews liked Sayles straightforward unadorned style, and he wrote, "Men With Guns is a slow-paced trip, with a lot of translated conversation, and Sayles keeps it pure. The actors are said to be speaking in four dialects, and there's nothing about the film, other than the ill-conceived couple (Mandy Patinkin and Kathryn Grody) used as comic relief, to give away its American origin. Sayles has never been a visual stylist, and his latest film is as straightforward and plot-bound as any of the earlier ones."
The review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 88% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on twenty-five reviews.
Soundtrack
Mason Daring
Mason K. Daring is an American musician and composer of scores for film and television. He has worked on nearly all the films directed by John Sayles, adapting his style to fit whatever period in which the film is set.-Biography:Daring began his music studies in fourth grade, playing trumpet,...
.
The music is universally Latin
Latino
The demonyms Latino and Latina , are defined in English language dictionaries as:* "a person of Latin-American descent."* "A Latin American."* "A person of Hispanic, especially Latin-American, descent, often one living in the United States."...
in flavor. The various styles include: cumbia
Cumbia
Cumbia is a music genre popular across Latin America. The cumbia originated in the Caribbean coast of Colombia, where it is associated with an eponymous dance and has since spread as far as Mexico and Argentina...
s, the Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
n dance music; a brass band; an orquestra, of Mayan culture; Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian Susana Baca
Susana Baca
Susana Esther Baca de la Colina is a prominent Peruvian singer-songwriter; two-times Latin Grammy Award winner. She has been a key figure in the revival of Afro-Peruvian music within Peru....
singing a cappella
A cappella
A cappella music is specifically solo or group singing without instrumental sound, or a piece intended to be performed in this way. It is the opposite of cantata, which is accompanied singing. A cappella was originally intended to differentiate between Renaissance polyphony and Baroque concertato...
; El General's
El General
El General is a Panamanian Reggae artist considered by some to be one of the Fathers of Reggaeton. During the early 1990s, he initiated the Spanish spoken dancehall that would later become reggaeton...
funky hip-hop; and Mason Daring's bass marimba and Spanish guitar-driven score.
Awards
Wins- Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: FIPRESCI Prize, for expressing with sensitivity and efficiency one of the essential problems of our time; International Catholic Film Association (OCIC) Grand Prix Award; Solidarity Award; all for John Sayles, 1997.
Nominated
- Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: Golden Seashell, John Sayles, 1997.
- British Independent Film AwardsBritish Independent Film AwardsThe Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
: Best Foreign Independent Film Award, Foreign Language, 1998. - British Independent Film AwardsBritish Independent Film AwardsThe Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...
: Best Foreign Language Film, 1998. - Golden Globes: Best Foreign Language Film, 1999.
- Political Film SocietyPolitical Film SocietyThe Political Film Society is a nonprofit corporation that exists to recognize Hollywood films' ability to raise awareness in political matters in the world. Film makers are the ones who are awarded by this organization...
, Peace Award, 1999.