Men with Guns

Barely edging out "The Spanish Prisoner" as the best film of 1998, "Men With Guns" offers quiet genius and delight for those willing to go beyond the mainstream. Although overlooked by most viewers John Sayles has basically incorporated the elemental characters of "The Wizard of Oz" and placed the dreams and desires of idealists in the cruel setting of the real world, where ever that might be. The setting of an unidentified Latin American country shows that things such as the atrocities performed by the men with guns can happen anywhere - in a developed Latin American nation or in the United States of America.

John Sayles, America's most prolific director, holds in his visions more insight into the complex workings of humanity than most other directors present in an abundance of visual effects and in-your-face techniques. AMPAS has yet again failed to recognize genuine substance but hopefully this film, another in a long line of accomplishments that presents wondrous film making and excellent storytelling, will not be forgotten.

Dreamlike, mythological, multilayered and almost mystical on the one hand, and on the other hand, vividly conveying the reality of Guatemala in the 1980s (which is what the film's story is mostly based on, though it draws in part from the present-day situation in Mexico's southernmost state of Chiapas, where it was mostly filmed; I think that the Indian language we were hearing was Tzotzil Maya). This film is as understated as its blunt, simple title (by the way, all violence happens offscreen). And yet it is so multilayered that I am still trying to absorb its many levels. It is a "road movie," and it is a profound spiritual odyssey for the main character; it is a suspenseful and unpredictable thriller full of unexpected twists, and it is mythic... in fact, we gradually come to realize that the entire story is being told, like a traditional myth, by a Mayan mother to her little girl. A beautiful example of the Latin American "magical realism" style. This film gets an unhesitating score of 10 from me... in fact, I think I may consider this film among my lifetime top ten movies.

I just fell upon this movie while watching the IFC channel and I hadn't been back from Guatemala for long. After living there amongst the natives I was able to get to know them better and understand their culture more. Seeing this film brought back a lot of those memories and reminded me of the many stories I heard of the army's genocidal tendencies towards the indigenous people of Guatemala. The cinematography for this film is simple, but it shows the beautiful landscapes and run down third world towns in a way to almost show us the same details that we would see if we were really there. We have to remember that the characters portrayed in this movie are very real, they may not have the same names, but they do exist. Even the war vets who have gone to levels so low we cannot even imagine. If you would like to understand what went on in Southern Mexico and Guatemala during the 80's, I would strongly recommend this film. It left a very strong impression on me.

Men with Guns is one of the finest films of the genre. It has legs- really stays with you, for years. The priest's story alone is brilliant filmmaking. I've been a great fan of John Sayles' work for many years, but I think this is both his most original and generally best work. The shame is that no one seems to have seen this film. I saw it 3X in theatres and there were never more than 5 people in the audience. MWG doesn't appeal to the short- attention-spaned sex-and-violence cravers. The history of 30 years of terrible civil war as close as Guatemala is something our children remain ignorant about. This incredible film puts that war into unique perspective. Sayles didn't seem to care if too many people saw it or not- subtitles alone guarantee a fringe audience confined to a few art houses. The film is not perfect- editing could be a little better; but what a story! The opening and closing scenes really work for me. I hope everyone reading these comments will go out and rent Men with Guns ASAP. Sayles at his best.

A retired Professor of medicine in Mexico begins a journey to reaffirm his legacy, that is, to find and reacquaint himself with the students who studied under him. His search takes him to southern Mexico along the Guatemala border, where an internecine war is in progress between guerilla soldiers and government troops. The war has left the country and its native inhabitants devastated. He find, tragically, his former students have all been killed: if they treated guerilla soldiers, they were executed by the army. If they treated soldiers they were assassinated by guerillas. He ends up with some companions on the journey: an embittered ex-soldier, a priest ravaged by guilt from the commission of an unpardonable sin, a woman who has been gang raped by soldiers, a boy who is old before his time. It is very interesting, and a tribute to a carefully wrought script, that none of these characters can be who they are: the doctor is no longer a doctor, the soldier has deserted, the boy can no longer be a boy, the woman a woman, the priest a priest. Their very violent and moving journey takes them to a mountain top and to the magical possibility of redemption. Mandy Patinkin appears briefly several times in the film as an American tourist, exploring the offbeat paths of rural Mexico. But he, symbolically, is much more than that. His role is one of the most intriguingly conceived elements of the film. Is he a guide? A celestial companion? The film is mostly in Spanish, although long sections of it are in native languages, such as Mayan and Huatl. They are beautiful languages, very musical in nature, and offer one more reason to see this vibrant, provocative masterpiece. This is one of the greatest of American films. Many critics said so and it received universal accolades from everyone except the public. They stayed away in groves, and I, living in Philadelphia, had to plan carefully in order to see it twice. Those who are critical of American film, believing it can never equal the philosophical attainments of European film, should see this film. Few films have dealt with eschatological issues as assuredly as this one: The Seventh Seal, Persona, Cold Fever, Forbidden Games, are some that have, and this magnificent film is very much their equal.