Valdez il mezzosangue

The Valdez Horses (AKA: Chino and Valdez the Halfbreed) is directed by John Sturges and adapted to screenplay by Clair Huffaker from the novel "The Valdez Horses" written by Lee Hoffman. It stars Charles Bronson, Jill Ireland, Marcel Bozzuffi and Vincent Van Patten. Music is by Guido and Maurizio De Angelis and cinematography by Armando Nannuzzi.

Chino Valdez (Bronson), half Indian, half Mexican, lives in solitude on his ranch and beavers away breeding and breaking horses. When one night a 15 year old stray youngster appears at his door looking for bed, board and maybe work, it signals a chain of events that will ultimately define the both of them.

It happens once in a while, a Western fan will observe the mixed notices for a particular genre piece and kind of dismiss it as being far from essential viewing, even if it happens to star an actor you greatly enjoy. "The Valdez Horses" is a beautiful Western, a thoughtful and reflective genre piece that seems to have been damned by those who got a completely different Bronson movie to the one they were hoping for. Regardless of the question of just how much directing John Sturges actually did on the picture (it's rumoured Italian Duilio Coletti did most of the work), the end result is a mature and engaging piece of entertainment.

It's a film that belongs in the company of "Monte Walsh", "Will Penny" and "Lonely Are the Brave", films that feature a macho male protagonist at odds with what is happening around him. In Chino Valdez's case, he's a loner, he likes a drink and he's constantly having to defend himself against the racists down in the town. He's at his happiest when it's just him and his horses, man and beast clearly understand each other. But when young Jamie Wagner (Patten) arrives in Chino's life, the equilibrium is upset, but in a good way, two lost souls finding a family foothold that both thought beyond them.

Yet there is of course a villain of the piece, Maral (Bozzuffi), an all domineering land baron who has absolutely no time of day for the halfbreed horse tamer. Things are further complicated when Maral's half sister comes to town, Catherine (Ireland) is prim and proper British, and immediately there's an attraction between her and Chino, there is just no way Maral is going to sit back and let a relationship develop there. A shame because Chino and Catherine benefit each other greatly, but the vile stink of hatred hovers over them like a black cloud waiting to unload its miserable cargo.

Some old reviews for the film claim its a series of un-cohesive scenes strung together! That really isn't the case at all, the trajectory very much builds towards the next stage of Chino and Jamie's life. Chino introduces Jamie to an Indian tribe, spending time with them and their way of life, even as he ruefully remarks to his young charge that they are a dying breed, there's a proud sheen to Chino that's most telling. Chino also takes him out for Xmas celebrations in town with the Mexicans, the young man clearly has never been so happy as he gets shown by Chino that not all the West is rife with bile. While elsewhere, all the scenes with the horses, the breaking in, the riding, the stare downs, are superbly filmed and emphasise the narrative's point of Jamie's further education.

There's some violence, it would after all be a shame to waste Bronson in that way, but this is no "Chato's Land" and newcomers to the film should be forewarned that it isn't a shoot em' up/fist fights rampage movie. In fact the ending is most unconventional and sure to leave some very frustrated. I know that I was initially, but a couple of hours later as I sat down with a glass of wine I pondered on how daring and poignant it was, a real bitter-sweet finale that deftly has you re-evaluating the whole point of the movie. Lovely scenery (Almeria, Spain) helps put the cherry on the cake, and with Bronson on fine form and his chemistry with Ireland and Patten set in stone, this is a far better picture than you may have heard it is. 8/10

I watched this movie a few days ago and at the time wasn't overly impressed. However, I find myself still thinking about it and therefore I can't deny it made a lasting impression. This is certainly one of the more unusual westerns you will ever watch and I would add this is definitely one of Bronson's better films. I watched a really bad print of this on VHS and wish I had something better to view this film again. I'm sure I would like it even better second time around.

I think that maybe the real genius in this movie is the way it accurately captured the isolation early pioneers actually encountered in the vastness of the old west. Bronson is a man living alone on a horse ranch and "living" is about it. Unexpectedly he befriends a young drifter and then even more unexpectedly falls in love with a very beautiful woman. Then his life really become complicated. However, all the while, you sort of sense that he expects things to work out wrong because that is just the way life goes for a man like him; someone who learns to mostly just depend on himself and just accept whatever comes as whatever comes. In a way its a sad film...but you have to realize that life out there on the frontier battling the elements, ruthless land barons, and loneliness wasn't exactly a bowl of cherries. The landscape, overcast skies, and the sets do a fabulous job helping create the somber atmosphere that is, in my opinion, the real star of this film. This is a spaghetti western but this time around the various elements of Italian films are brought out in their better light. This is a serious piece of film and worth watching for a number of reasons. It is not an action filled shoot em' up but rather a character study and realistic portrayal of how hard times and hard living were in the tough old west. Nicely photographed too. This movie reminds me of stuff like Will Penny, Tender Mercies, or even Monte Walsh. Not as good as those but pretty close. Yes, there are flaws but its still interesting and unique...and fun to look at I might add.

I agree that the change of directors caused a change in quality of the film, but all in all this is one of my favorite westerns. It is thought provoking and realistic. Bronson's acting comes off as natural and he understood who Chino was. His relationship with the young boy seems odd, but not forced. The scenes with Jill Ireland are amusing and show the difference in culture between Europe and the old west. Filmed in Europe, there are a few quirks that sort of make you laugh, the Native Americans and the town seem a little hokey, but the film remains enjoyable. The ending bothered me, but thats what made this a good film. I reccommend this to anyone who wants to sit and relax to a good western.

"Chino" had such potential. It was directed (partially) by the great John Sturges and its star, Charles Bronson, gives a wonderful performance, exuding the kind of quiet masculine strength that no one in Hollywood has these days. Most of the complaints about the film have to do with its atypically downbeat ending. I won't spoil it for you, but I will say that I thought the ending, though viscerally unsatisfying, was intellectually and emotionally appropriate, more along the lines of something you'd read in a novel than see in a pop movie.

But what really goofs the film up is the see-saw realism brought about by being directed by two different men, the ailing Hollywood icon Sturges, and Duilio Coletti, unknown in the states, who may have been even further down the slope of his career in Europe. Formalist Sturges strove for at least the inner-logic of "movie reality." Coletti's work had devolved into the worst of sloppy Eurowesterns.

Parts of the film seem to strive for realism, using natural lighting effects, etc. But as the film progresses, more and more glaring anachronisms pop up, such as perfectly square hay bales, only possible with baling machines. This break with even a third-grader's knowledge of the old west reaches its zenith when a character burns down a house, using a PLASTIC JUG of kerosene. A PLASTIC JUG in the old west! Hard to believe that even a European wouldn't know that there was no plastic in those days. I don't know what the circumstances were behind Sturges either quitting or being fired from the director's chair part-way through the filming of "Chino," but it certainly seems as though the scenes he left missing were shot by Coletti as quickly and with as little thought as possible.

The film is also hobbled a bit by it's international origins. The villian is obviously French while his sister, played by Jill Ireland, is obviously British. Ireland has a brief bit of dialoge explaining this, but it only leaves you scratching your head all the more. Otherwise, "Chino" has many wonderful segments, thoughtful and well-acted.

As a postscript: I wish someone would restore this and other of Bronson's more unusual Euro flicks and make them available on high quality widescreen dvd. The currently available vhs and dvd versions of Chino, Red Sun, Honor Among Theives, Cold Sweat, You Can't Win 'Em All, and etc, all suck bigtime. MGM? Anchor Bay? HELLO?

'Chino' is a surprisingly engaging western which stars Charles Bronson as the haggard central character, trying to tame wild horses, and the young protégé which sort of falls into his lap, played by 1970's stalwart Vincent Van Patten). Bronson tries to keep his business in order, when meanwhile, a guy with an impossibly long Italian name tries to fence him in! And to make things worse, he falls in love with impossibly-named Italian guy's sister (played by Jill Ireland). Amazingly, this actually is a bit of fun, because Bronson is well, Bronson, and it's fun to see a real life couple such as Bronson and Ireland blow sparks off of each other. The ending is verrrrrry 1970's, absolutely nothing is resolved, I mean, NOTHING! It's quite an interesting movie. Check it out!