La otra conquista

This is the most powerful, unforgettable and life-altering film I've seen in ages. It's amazing that I'm Irish and I felt it was about the story of my people, even though it's about the Aztecs and Spanish. What's wrong with you distributors out there? Why isn't this film playing nationwide?!?!?

This film explores the relationships between politics, religion, spirituality, and culture, focusing on some true and some fabricated events of the Spanish invasion of the Aztecs. Biting, the film charges with the idea that the nature of culture and the strength of a highly traditional belief system is not conquerable. Stressing the strength and perseverance of the human will, the film yields unforgettable images, some that stress the deep connection between humanity and religion. One immortal image is of a statue of the Virgin Mary being carefully supported down from a high place with ropes. In this image, the true condition of organized religion is viewed; one that is undeniably buttressed by the will of the people.

With this powerful look at cross-cultural interactions and the strong statements about the role of the missionary, the movie grips its audience, leaving us with a feeling that all human beliefs are related and filtered by our very similar eyes. The message that this movie sends about religious disputes is one of great importance and even greater shrewdness on the part of the movie's creators.

La Otra Conquista will always live with me. I was in awe with the wonderful combination of acting and music. The scenes were breathtaking and the plot got its much overdue attention. I've watched it two times, picking up something new every time. I wish there were more movies like it.

The Other Conquest is one of the best films that I have ever seen.BUT it is neither for the squeamish nor the prudish. It is based on the consequences of the Spanish Military Conquest of Mexico led by Hernán Cortés in the early sixteenth century. The Other Conquest is set against this backdrop and explores the religious conquest of Topiltzin, the son of the Aztec King, Montezuma, and his favorite mistress. It is powerful yet beautiful; educational yet entertaining; sexual yet romantic; brutal yet compassionate. The director, Salavdor Carrasco, expertly weaves these contrasts into a film that grabs your attention from the beginning and takes you on an astonishing E-Ticket ride. The photography is stunning and the music is captivating. You will not forget this film. The only problem will be finding it. As I write this in September 2001, I have been looking for it for almost a year. I only recently learned that a small number of videos (without English subtitles) are available. Hopefully Señor Carrasco will release an English subtitled version of this Great film very soon. This film deserves a much wider audience than it has had.

La Otra Conquista has touched me in a way that no other movie has. I saw it two weeks ago and I am still under its spell, I think, in a way, I always will. Let me get to the point. There are several dimensions to this flawless piece of art, this priceless gem, this eminent, yet unassuming masterpiece of a timeless, universal message, this miraculous documentary of what happened 500 years ago and until now had only lived in the intangible inner world of those who, for ancestry or spiritual communion, have dared to reach back and touch the still pulsating heart of the Native Americans, the Spirit of the Land. All would deserve to be talked about at great length (historical, cultural, spiritual, intellectual, aesthetic, emotional, religious, musical, linguistic, semiotic and so on) but I'd rather strike (and I can only try) at what I perceive its heart to be as it has done to me. Topiltzin (whose name I have called with tears in my eyes again and again for days and days), from the bottom of his pure, untainted spirit, undergoes a spiritual travail like no others, comparable in force and intensity to that of Christ, and comes out transfigured at the other end, having literally saved humanity by embracing the spirit of his oppressor, who in turn is also transcendentally transformed. This movie's message is not about revenge toward the inhumanity of man toward man, but rather about the all-conquering power of the human spirit, above and beyond the cultural trappings of one's religious beliefs, something that the Catholic Church, unfortunately, unbelievably, has yet to realize. The spiritual lessons to be learned and re-learned from experiencing this film are priceless, heart-wrenching, ultimately enlightening. If you go to church, or the sports arena, this is like a thousand high masses, a thousand super bowls. IT WILL TRANSFORM YOU. Go see it already, stop wasting your precious time.