Year of Release: 1952Country of Origin: USA
Director: Elia Kazan
Cast: Marlon Brando, Jean Peters, Anthony Quinn
Plot outline: The rise and tragic end of the rebel Indian leader Emiliano Zapata (IMDb).
Before Hollywood's acceptance of global cinema producers took no care in regards to accuracy or authenticity when it came to telling history. And the idea of Marlon Brando playing the Mexican revolutionary general Emiliano Zapata is perhaps a head-turner now, but back then, it was common for Americans to put on face makeup and butcher the legacies of history’s great figures. Viva Zapata! is not the definitive historical account of the great 20th century revolutionary, or even a passing resemblance of history, let’s judge the movie as a piece of Hollywood entertainment with the era in proper context. With that said, I don’t know much about Zapata’s mannerisms or personality or looks, but Brando’s Zapata surely retains the nobility, courage and reluctant hero qualities of the real life man. The movie is all about Brando. It was his movie after A Streetcar Named Desire, his mumbling was still pronounced and almost incomprehensive at times. But that’s the fun of watching Brando. He chews the scenery and naturally draws all his attention to himself. From 1951 to 1954, Marlon Brando redefined acting - four movies in four years garnered him Best Actor nominations (A Streetcar Named Desire, Viva Zapata!, Julius Caesar and On the Waterfront) and a win for On the Waterfront. Watching his performance is like watching those defining moments in cinema history - the rulebook being re-written right before our eyes. To give Elia Kazan credit, for the most part he does the job admirably, his dramatic compositions, staging for action and fighting are worthy of John Ford’s work. Unfortunately he doesn't flesh out any of the other characters. Despite the acclaim for Anthony Quinn's work, he is considerably underused and is relegated to sidekick only. (AB)
My judgement: *** out of 4 stars
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