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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. It is not until he begins his journey that he discovers a world much different than the one he had imagined existing for his students as he
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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
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On his journey he accumulates a few travelling companions: Padre
Portillo, a fallen priest who has lost his faith; Domingo, a deserter from the Army without a country; Conejo, an orphan who survives by stealing; and Graciela, a woman who has turned mute after she was raped by the military. Fuentes
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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
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Dr. Fuentes is a medical professor/doctor near his retirement and his wife has recently died. He taught a group of seven - he views this as one of his greatest accomplishments - that trains young people to provide health care to impoverished citizens in the outlying hill country, where small
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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.
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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.
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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 did not want people to think that it can "only happen in
407:(Hombres Armados). 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.
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finds himself encountering guerrillas and soldiers. As
Fuentes digs into the jungle in search of his students, he discovers that men with guns have reached them first, his students being menaced by many
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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
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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
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505:, 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.
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is a somber rumination on the nature of violence and the sometimes disastrous effects of good intentions. While not as epic as his last film, the masterful
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694:: FIPRESCI Prize, for expressing with sensitivity and efficiency one of the essential problems of our time; International Catholic Film Association (OCIC)
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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
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origin. Sayles has never been a visual stylist, and his latest film is as straightforward and plot-bound as any of the earlier ones."
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Principal photography was done in thirty-seven shooting days in
January and February 1997 and filmed in over forty locations.
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contains twenty-three tracks (00:43:10), and includes songs heard in the film and the film score written by
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reported that 89% of critics gave the film a positive review, based on twenty-seven reviews.
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An original motion picture soundtrack was released by
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Donostia-San
Sebastián International Film Festival: Golden Seashell, John Sayles, 1997.
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898:"Fathers and Guns: Cinema Tales from Telluride," issue #396, September 12, 1997.
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funky hip-hop; and Mason Daring's bass marimba and
Spanish guitar-driven score.
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The film was featured at various international film festivals, including: the
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on September 5, 1997, which caused a small amount of confusion as
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714:: Best Foreign Independent Film Award, Foreign Language, 1998.
997:. Last accessed: November 28, 2009. Accessed: August 4, 2013.
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Sony Classic Pictures Official Web Site, production section.
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film review, March 27, 1998. Accessed: August 4, 2013.
974:Johnston, Andrew (March 5, 1998). "Men with Guns".
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Award; Solidarity Award; all for John Sayles, 1997.
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467:Carmen Madrid as Angela, Dr. Fuentes's daughter
960:"Sayles Again Goes His Own Way With Effective
399:agricultural communities struggle to survive.
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729:Political Film Society, Peace Award, 1999.
470:Esteban Soberanes as Raúl, Angela's fiancé
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753:in flavor. The various styles include:
558:1997 Toronto International Film Festival
873:from the original on September 28, 2022
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492:. He had an uncle who was a doctor in
440:Dan Rivera Gonzalez as Conejo, the boy
1406:Films with screenplays by John Sayles
598:Edinburgh International Film Festival
443:Tania Cruz as Graciela, the mute girl
425:Don Francisco García as a man walking
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606:Helsinki International Film Festival
726:: Best Foreign Language Film, 1999.
720:: Best Foreign Language Film, 1998.
390:and most of the crew were Mexican.
1441:English-language independent films
1411:Indigenous cinema in Latin America
29:Men with Guns (1997 Canadian film)
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513:The movie was filmed entirely in
802:, Renaissance Books, 2000 p 240.
533:and San José Babilonia, both in
349:The Long Night of White Chickens
343:edited, written and directed by
80:The Long Night of White Chickens
1431:Spanish-language American films
1152:The Brother from Another Planet
718:British Independent Film Awards
712:British Independent Film Awards
612:; the Reykjavik Film Festival,
371:. The executive producers were
1381:Films based on American novels
1366:American political drama films
764:dance music; a brass band; an
632:, film critic writing for the
517:, in 40 locations, including:
1:
1386:Films directed by John Sayles
449:as Padre Portillo, the priest
347:, inspired by the 1992 novel
1426:Sony Pictures Classics films
1391:Films scored by Mason Daring
1351:1990s Spanish-language films
1341:1990s English-language films
1049:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
928:web site, September 4, 1997.
831:AFI Catalog of Feature Films
639:liked the film, and wrote, "
476:as Carlos, Dr. Fuentes's son
188:Anarchist's Convention Films
1361:American multilingual films
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548:was first presented at the
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1396:Films set in South America
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191:Lexington Road Productions
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749:The music is universally
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51:Theatrical release poster
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1202:The Secret of Roan Inish
1122:Return of the Secaucus 7
233:March 27, 1998
181:Independent Film Channel
27:Not to be confused with
1331:1997 multilingual films
582:Deauville Film Festival
550:Telluride Film Festival
437:as Domingo, the soldier
1436:Tzotzil-language films
1421:Nahuatl-language films
1326:1997 independent films
673:The review aggregator
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204:Sony Pictures Classics
1371:Films about educators
896:Entertainment Weekly,
859:(September 4, 1997).
523:Ciudad Nezahualcóyotl
464:Roverto Sosa as Bravo
336:) is a 1997 American
1416:Mayan-language films
1401:Films shot in Mexico
1336:1990s American films
916:, September 8, 1997.
241: (United States)
1029:, Editorial Review.
577:on March 27, 1998.
474:Alejandro Springall
1107:Films directed by
1012:2007-10-13 at the
958:Los Angeles Times,
942:Chicago Sun-Times,
926:Vulcan Productions
768:of Mayan culture;
382:Set in an unnamed
34:1997 American film
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1252:Casa de los babys
976:Time Out New York
964:" March 13, 1998.
798:Gerry Molyneaux,
659:Time Out New York
635:Chicago Sun-Times
625:Critical response
573:It opened in the
509:Filming locations
490:Francisco Goldman
353:Francisco Goldman
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85:Francisco Goldman
78:A character from
16:(Redirected from
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163:Mason Daring
101:Maggie Renzi
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1262:Silver City
1109:John Sayles
800:John Sayles
773:Susana Baca
630:Roger Ebert
519:Mexico City
503:El Salvador
377:Jody Patton
355:. It stars
345:John Sayles
254:127 minutes
154:John Sayles
91:Produced by
70:John Sayles
61:John Sayles
57:Directed by
1316:1997 films
1310:Categories
1027:Amazon.com
787:References
777:a cappella
766:orquestra,
734:Soundtrack
696:Grand Prix
481:Background
461:as Harriet
341:drama film
312:Box office
237:1998-03-27
222:1997-08-30
170:Production
67:Written by
1212:Lone Star
913:Maclean's
814:web site.
762:Colombian
703:Nominated
668:Lone Star
656:wrote in
620:Reception
494:Guatemala
455:as Andrew
373:Lou Gonda
338:political
315:$ 910,773
267:Languages
228:Telluride
172:companies
151:Edited by
1072:AllMovie
1010:Archived
871:Archived
775:singing
770:Peruvian
602:Scotland
564:'s film
554:Colorado
531:Palenque
527:Veracruz
159:Music by
110:Starring
75:Based on
1275:(2007)
1235:(1999)
1162:Matewan
1046:at the
866:Variety
828:at the
756:cumbias
614:Iceland
610:Finland
541:Release
535:Chiapas
328:Spanish
296:English
292:Tzotzil
287:Nahuatl
273:Spanish
259:Country
235: (
220: (
1295:(2013)
1285:(2010)
1265:(2004)
1255:(2003)
1245:(2002)
1225:(1997)
1215:(1996)
1205:(1994)
1195:(1992)
1185:(1991)
1175:(1988)
1165:(1987)
1155:(1984)
1145:(1983)
1135:(1983)
1132:Lianna
1125:(1980)
681:Awards
604:; the
596:; the
588:; the
586:France
515:Mexico
413:Edenic
388:Mexico
304:Budget
226: (
1282:Amigo
1232:Limbo
962:Guns,
751:Latin
594:Spain
277:Mayan
1061:IMDb
879:2022
760:the
686:Wins
420:Cast
375:and
367:and
282:Kuna
1070:at
1059:at
993:at
894:.
351:by
83:by
1312::
956:.
940:.
869:.
863:.
779:;
746:.
740:CD
608:,
600:,
592:,
584:,
552:,
537:.
529:;
521:;
379:.
363:,
359:,
330::
1100:e
1093:t
1086:v
978:.
881:.
834:.
758:,
637:,
326:(
239:)
230:)
224:)
31:.
20:)
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