San Sebastian

A spaghetti western surprise with Anthony Quinn as a "priest" and Charles Bronson as a Mestizo malcontent.

The movie has a theme, a developed plot, some actors with charisma and an Ennio Morricone score. That's more than most movies give you, regardless of genre.

I was pleased to find that Spaghettiville isn't a one-horse (Eastwood/Leone) town.

8 out of 10.

The European Western takes a couple steps back in time with the rascal-mistaken-for-clergy theme, a proved device that worked for Bogie in "The Left Hand of God" & Whoopi in "Sister Act." In colonial Mexico, bandit Leon (Quinn) takes refuge with dedicated Father Joseph (Jaffe) & escapes when the priest is transferred to a forsaken northern village. The villagers, terrified of marauding Yaquis & exploited by a frontier protection racket led by embittered half-Yaqui Teclo (Bronson), mistake Leon for the priest & implore him for miracles. Unable to escape back into colonial settlement & tempted by naive, spirited village girl Kinita (Comer), he teaches the villagers to fight back & believe in themselves rather than praying for miracles. Quinn is colorful as ever but not quite believable making the transition from Leon the selfish, godless rascal to Leon the selfless, principled hero, though he is properly scruffy all the way through. Comer is fetching but Bronson is only bulky & menacing. Two extraordinary talents--Gravet as a stuffy bishop & the legendary Silvia Pinal as Leon's conniving girlfriend--are relegated to minor, superficial roles. The time period is wrong for the film's big gunfights, since firearms were clumsy & rare in the 18th century. But the tongue-in-cheek flavor of the spaghetti Western, with a scruffy rascal confounded, puzzled & frustrated on the way to his selfish goal, holds true all the way through. The Yaquis are represented--up to a point--with the sympathy typical of Westerns of circa 1970. A subplot, Leon's pursuit of a wild white horse, is an effective, slightly surreal device. A contribution by Bunuel, Jr., the 2nd unit director? Oh, my God, this movie has Silvia Pinal & Juan Luis Bunuel! It's the closest thing to a surrealist Western!

The film has a good theme and set in quite genuine historical settings. It brings out the conflict between the indians and the settlers, the poor settlers and the ruling elite. It packs in quite some punch on the action category.

Anthony Quin plays Leon Alastray, part time revolutionary and full time bandit, on the run from the Spanish authorities in Old Mexico in the 18th Century. Through a series of unlikely but possible events, Quinn is mistaken for a priest whom has come to the small village of San Sebastian. The villagers are being victims by Jaime Fernandez and his band of Yacquis. Charles Bronson plays (badly, worst performance of his career) a half-breed whose loyalties are always suspect. Anjanette Comely, er Comer, plays the sultry love interest. Rather silly story, good cinematography, fairly good special effects, and outstanding music (by the master, Ennio Morricone) makes this a worthwhile view. Turner Classic Movies shows it in letterbox. Otherwise, you are out of luck. It's not available in video.

This exciting picture deals with an outlaw disguising himself as priest who helps defend tribal land ,(people living on the edges of themselves and their resourcefulness and limited supplies) from a gang of mean bandits and rebel Indians that want tribe's crop . ¨Two hundred years ago Mexico was ruled by a King in far-off Spain who was attempting to impose an alien religion and system of law upon a proud but diverse people . They ranged from simple villagers , torn between old and new , to the most warlike of the Indian tribes : the Yaquis who were determined to resist all change . This is the story of Astray who chose to fight both the king and the Yaquis ¨ . Leon Alastray (Anthony Quinn) is a bandit who has been given sanctuary in a church by Father John (Sam Jaffe), whom he then accompanies to the village of San Sebastian (Mexico) . The village is deserted, with its cowardly residents hiding in the ridges from Yaquis, who ordinarily attack the little town and rob all their food . When Father John is killed, the villagers mistakenly believe the bandit is a parish priest . Alastray at first tell them he is not a priest, but they don't believe it, and an apparent miracle on a San Sebastian sculpture seems to demonstrate they are correct . After that , the priest train them to kill and defending themselves when the village is besieged by the violent Yaquis . Meanwhile , the Indian war party (commanded by Jaime Fernandez as Golden Lance) and a rebel group (led by Charles Bronson) then head out to conquer the Mexican village held in an impregnable fortress that the villagers have built and the priest assists them in regaining their confidence.

This Western movie produced by Jacques Bar is a Franco-Mexican-Italian co-production,; it packs thrills, emotion, romance, action packed , extraordinary performances and spectacular finale battle . This Western-drama is an interesting story that carries a genuine charge of intelligence with exciting battle of wits between an upright outlaw and a nasty mestizo . Sensational acting by two big star names, Anthony Quinn and Charles Bronson . Strong secondary cast plenty of Mexican actors as Silvia Pinal, Pedro Armendariz Jr , Enrique Lucero, Jaime Fernandez, Chano Urueta and special mention to Sam Jaffe as kind old priest and Leon Askin as Vicar General . Interesting and thrilling screenplay by the prestigious James R Webb . Very good cinematography filmed in Metrocolor by Armand Thirard and on location in Durango, El Saltito, Durango, San Miguel de Allende, and Guanajuato, Mexico . Sensible musical score by the maestro Ennio Morricone in one of his best scores , including particular style and sound . The picture is splendidly directed by Henry Verneuil, a Turkish director working in France from the 40s. Although not a director of great reputation among the critics, his movies have almost all been aimed squarely at the commercial market. Verneuil is an expert on heist-genre such as he proved in ¨The Sicilians clan(68)¨ also with Gabin and Delon, ¨The burglars(1971)¨with Omar Shariff and Jean Paul Belmondo , furthermore on Warlike genre : ¨Weekend at Dunkirk¨and ¨The 25th hour¨and only one Western : Guns of San Sebastian(68)¨. He seemed to have dropped out of the film-making after 1976, but in 1981 unexpectedly reappeared with yet another of his caper film : ¨Thousand millions of dollars¨. Rating : Good movie and above average, a must see for Western lovers and Quinn and Bronson fans.