Prof-Hieronymos-Grost
Macario is a simple peasant, struggling to make ends meet. He gathers firewood in the nearby woods, to sell at market to help feed his large family. However no matter how hard he works, he still finds his children are starving and this hits him hard. With the Day of the Dead festival approaching, he finds it difficult to take that wealthy families are able to make such large offerings of food to their deceased relatives, while he and his family can barely get the bones of a good meal together. He goes on a hunger strike so that his children can have his share, this naturally worries his wife. His wife presents him with a large Turkey for him to eat all by himself, a craving he had confided in her some days previous, he gladly takes it and sets off into the forest to eat it before he starts his working day. Suddenly a man appears all dressed in black, the man beckons him to share the turkey, but despite the man offering him immense wealth in return, Macario refuses. Macario is then confronted by a bearded man dressed in white, again he is asked to share his feast, but Macario refuses yet again. Hungry and more frustrated Macario goes deeper into the forest, where once more he is asked for a share or the turkey, this time by a starving peasant, this time Macario agrees, the man is delighted and offers Macario a rare and special gift in return, he fills his flask with water from a spring and tells him that but one drop from the flask will cure any illness, with one proviso, that the third man will appear at the foot of the bed of the ailing if they are to be cured, but if he appears at the head of the bed, then they must die. Macario gets a reputation as a healer after saving his own sons life and after helping a local richman to save his dying wife, they go into business together and Macario is soon just as wealthy, as people from all walks of life arriving in his town looking for a cure make donations in thanks. Not everyone is happy however, the towns doctor and coffin maker find business hard to come by and its not long before Macario is reported to the Inquisition, they have him arrested and against the odds he must prove he is not a heretic or a sorcerer, his life depends on it. After two years of gathering dust on a shelf, i decided it was finally time to watch this highly rated Mexican film. A tale of poor peasants struggling to get by is not the most attractive of premises to me, so i was quite surprised at how the film immediately struck a chord. From the opening credits where peasants carry skulls in a Day of the Dead procession, i was hooked, as visually the film is a real treat. Gavaldon is a multi award winning director and it shows, the film is beautifully structured, the story is unfolded with impeccable pace as both visuals and characters are given equal importance, a striking dream sequence with skeletal marionettes and the grand hall of the Inquisition being particularly memorable. There's a wealth of characters that are all interesting to watch, their plights are intriguing to follow as they struggle with differing lessons in life. The film is full of symbolism and metaphor, some of which even Macario is aware of, in particular concerning the three strangers he meets. The First being a metaphor for Evil, Greed and represented by a Satan figure, The second representing Good, Generosity and represented by a God figure, the third one would seem to be an Angel of Death, The Grim Reaper, Starvation and represented by the lost soul of a peasant. Like in a Christmas Carol, All three come back to haunt Macario, giving him guidance or leading him astray and guiding him to his ultimate fate. Macario is a wonderfully captivating film, that has plenty of great horror imagery, it has a great fantasy element too and also delivers some good wholesome life lessons, both comic and tragic and is pretty much intriguing on every level, i loved it. It also has a fantastic twist at the end.
insomniac_rod
I am ashamed to admit that I didn't find about "Macario" until 2000 when it gained some attention because "Amores Perros" was about to get nominated for Best Foreign Picture at the Academy Awards. "Macario" went to the spot light because it was Mèxico's first movie to get nominated for such an award. So I took away my prejudgments towards classic movies and I tracked down a "Macario" DVD.And I am extremely glad that this movie has worldwide recognition because it truly is one of Mexico's best movies of all time (if not the best)."Macario" is more than a fairy tale with macabre overtones such as displaying The Devil, or The Death. No, "Macario" has a social and humanitarian message PLUS it displays in a beautiful way Mexican culture towards the dead and how we (Mexicans) feel about Death. There's also a strong criticism against authorities and noble titles in the 18th century. This movie is rich in all the sense of the word.Meet Macario, a Mexican campesino or land worker who isn't completely happy with his life because he desires what rich people have; specifically, eating turkey. Macario works hard for his family but it isn't enough for establishing a life full of comfort.One good day, Macario's wife gets a turkey for him; a turkey that cost her a lot of effort and work. Macario is thrilled and delighted with it and decides to eat it all by himself, not sharing it. He walks too far until he gets tired and takes a rest in the woods. On his eating turkey journey Macario meets Satan, The Death, and God. The three iconic figures want a bite of that turkey but Macario won't share it. But Death makes a deal with him... a deal that will give Macario all the power, money, fame, respect and all the turkey goodies he always wished. But in exchange for what? True, he will be the savior for many souls but will also risk his own soul.I don't want to give much away from this wonderful piece of cinema. It is a tender tale with dark overtones and Horror references but to be honest, this is more of a fantasy story displaying interesting facts of Mexican culture.Ignacio Lòpez Tarso delivers an amazing performance as Macario. That's all I can say about him. He's the master. Also Pilar Pellicer delivers a great performance. Too bad that she committed suicide at such a young age.The direction is flawless and sometimes looks way ahead of it's time. The same with the fantastic art direction and cinematography. The final scene where Macario is in front of thousands of candles it's a visually stunning and rich piece of art direction and cinematography. A memorable movie designed to charm everybody.Please watch "Macario" if you haven't. You won't find a better Mexican movie than this. It has everything to become a favorite.To be honest, I haven't seen it in 3 or 4 years but some scenes just keep repeating in my memory. This is a memorable movie in all the sense of the word. This movie makes me proud of being Mexican.
shoolaroon
this is truly a great, and rarely seen movie. it's beautifully photographed, wonderfully acted, and has the feel of a classic grimms brothers fairy tale (although this is too serious a movie for children). i was totally unfamiliar with the mexican film industry and basically only knew mexican wrestler movies, etc. this proves that there were and maybe, are, great movies coming out of mexico that deserve attention and prominence. great movie - 10 out of 10.
