...And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him

After reading Y no se lo trago la tierra, I was very curious to see how it's unique writing style of flashbacks and memories would be transferred into film. The book, even though confusing at times, brought very vivid images into my imagination and even caused chills down my arms on occasion. The film, though brilliantly shot doesn't do the book justice.

I don't know how the film-makers decided which parts of the book actually made it into the film, but one of the saddest stories in the book, "The Night Before Christmas," about the children at Christmas time not getting anything but fruit as presents and the mother who was prone to panic attacks, was completely left out of the film. To me, this was one of the stories, that gave me chills and even made me teary eyed. I really wish the film-makers would have included this story.

I was also not pleased with some of the unnecessary changes to some of the details in the book. In the book, Marcos wants to be a telephone operator and in the film, a radio operator. Why dishonor the author's choice of words? The film does has wonderful moments, like the mother praying for her son's safe return home. It was sad in the book but heartbreaking on film. All in all, I think the film should be shown as a companion piece to the book but no movie could have captured the visuals I saw in my mind while reading this book.

I ordered this DVD after reading about it and watching Jose Alcala's performance in Finding the way home, a TV movie that was made in 1991.

Coming out of the hands of Tomás Rivera (1935–1984), son of migrant workers and who worked on the fields, the portrayal couldn't have been better done. It's no wonder the 1971 semi-autobiographical novel won the first Premio Quinto Sol award.

Director Severo Perez has endeavored successfully to preserve the mood and emotions of the Mexican migrants while he was 75 years old.

Playing the role of the boy, Marcos, the main character, Jose Alcala's acting career seems to have ended after this movie which was released in 1995. What happened to this child-actor? He must be in his late 20's or early 30's now.

I rented this movie from a local library without having any prior knowledge of the book it is based on or the movie itself, purely based on the chance that it's one of those rare, overlooked gems that one can discover from time to time and really enjoy.

Unfortunately this is not one of those movies. I am not sure if this is a movie driven by sentimentality or worse, deliberate agenda, but certain elements of it made it impossible to immerse. It is supposed to portray a struggling immigrant worker community which tries to cope with the difficult realities of their life. That is a fine premise and it could have made for a gripping story, but the execution just made me alternate between getting annoyed and amused at the ridiculousness of it.

Here we have a community of simple farm workers who migrated to the US in search of employment and who get used and abused repeatedly by evil white men. And when I say evil - I mean EVIL. All white people in this movie are sinful, racist, sadistic, abusive devils whose sole purpose in life is sexual depravity intertwined with exploiting the poor immigrants. It would be a sad story if it wasn't so unintentionally grotesque and therefore hilarious.

The portrayal of the immigrants is also a poster-worthy example of exaggeration except that it goes in the opposite direction. The immigrants are saintly, clean and could serve as ointment for boo-boos and ouies the world over. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw these "field workers" presumably digging in the ditches all day with their notoriously clean clothes and chiseled hair cuts from a top notch hair salon. A little restraint and a more unbiased hand at the helm could have made this a much better movie evoking some intended emotion rather than sarcastic snickers.

This movie, an adaption of Tomas Rivera's short novel "...y no se lo trago la tierra" (And the Earth Did Not Devour Him), is a fairly accurate representation of both Hispanic social/religious values and the social/political hardships of Latino migrant workers during the mid twentieth century (i.e. worker exploitation and social discrimination).

This film's producers and director did a very good job of choosing to adapt to cinema a select few of the novel's passages to achieve a story that strikes a very good balance between presenting Hispanic culture and the numerous challenges facing migrant workers, thus resulting in a coherent story via the observations and reflections of the protagonist that sincerely describes the life, in general, of Latino migrant workers.

I definitely recommend this movie and the book for those who need some enlightenment about the shame of worker exploitation and the strength of the human spirit.

Peace to All...

Sergio Perez manages to enhance and convey the original work of Tomas Rivera through style and voice.

This film is a good companion for comparison to the original book titled "Y No se lo Trago la Tierra..." (And the Earth did not Devour Him...)by Tomas Rivera. Rivera's work is critiqued as impressionist work, and this movie depicts this style. Sergio Perez Films has brought my imagination to life.

Both subtle and clear devices of suggestion were used through the language, set background, and plot to achieve the power of suggestion and communication.

The film was made with meticulous details with regards to life as a migrant worker in the mid 1900's. The film portrays religious, mythical and family values in the midst of adversity. Adversity which makes mankind strong.

Get your compassion Kleenex out... you'll love this movie.