 | The Other Conquest Starring: Damian Delgado, Jose Carlos Rodriguez, Elpidia Carillo, Inaki Aierra, Honorato Magaloni |
In 1519 Hernando Cortes and his small army arrived in Mexico. Montezuma, who thought the Spaniard might be the white God Quetzalcoatl, welcomed him. Within 10 years the gold greedy Cortes ransacked and destroyed the Aztec culture and it's people. It is said that in the century after the conquest between 12 and 25 million Aztecs had perished by the brutal hands of the Spaniards. "The Other Conquest" begins in June 1526 when the conquest was virtually complete. The battles are over and cinematographer Arturo de la Rosa's camera slowly scans the landscape scattered with slaughtered native corpses. He depicts the savagery of the Spaniards in sharp, horrifying detail. The opening of "The Other Conquest," Salvador Carrasco's first film, would suggest to the viewer that one is in for a Mexican spin on the Spanish conquest with all of it's cruelty. Carrasco has much more in store for us in this profound epic. Slowly the Spaniards disappear and the film becomes an eternal struggle between two exceptional men on a metaphysical quest for each other's spiritual souls. Both lose and both win. I left the theater speechless, not yet realizing that I had just observed the stunning fusion of Catholic and Aztec deities, ending with the creation of a new and unique Mexican religion which still exists to this day. After the conquest is established, the cruel, gold seeking Captain Quijano (Honorato Magaloni) accidentally stumbles upon a sacred human sacrifice ceremony in the ruins of the Great Aztec Temple. Topiltzin (Damien Delgado), son of Montezuma, and his mistress are conducting the ceremony. As the outraged Captain Quijano begins a ruthless slaughter of all participants, a young Friar Diego stops the blood thirsty Captain by screaming, "You're behaving like them!" During the confusion Topiltzin escapes but is soon betrayed by his brother and hauled before Cortes himself. Execution would have most certainly been the order were it not for Topiltzin's half-sister, the mistress of Cortes. After hearing her pleas to spare her half-brother's life, Cortes gives in, but only if Topiltzin is truly converted to the Catholic faith. After a savage beating, he is turned over to the gentle Friar Diego and both men are sent to a quiet monastery to begin the conversion. At this point the film takes a subtle yet haunting turn. Topiltzin, now renamed Tomas, learns Spanish and begins to focus deeply on the basic precepts of Catholicism. Friar Diego soon realizes that Thomas is no ordinary Aztec. Few know he was the codifier of the ancient Aztec history. With his belief system in shambles, Tomas tries obsessively to understand Christianity and rectify it with what has been done to his people. He is subject to seizures as he wrestles with his soul. Friar Diego is the only man capable of understanding what Tomas is experiencing. It doesn't take long for Friar Diego to realize that this conversion is hopeless yet the two men have connected spiritually and Diego can only wait and observe. Tomas can accept one deity but, fascinated by a statue of the Virgin May, he is reminded of the ancient Aztec Earth Mother goddess Tonantzin. He informs Diego that he can surrender his body to the Virgin but never his spirit. Diego is stunned when Tomas quietly informs him that they (Tomas and Diego) were destined to meet and shall do so for all eternity. Friar Diego becomes fascinated and frightened at Tomas' struggles. Friar Diego could end this process at any time but continues to observe Tomas and his inner war with a hesitant curiosity. Both men have learned too much from each other and the in the end, they will both be destroyed. The considerable directing and writing talents of Carrasco and the remarkable camera work of de la Rosa contributes immensely to the frightening tension and haunting quality of this film. It would be hard to imagine the roles of Tomas and Diego performed by any actors other than Delgado and Rodriguez. The end of the film signifies the beginning of the Christian-Aztec religious fusion that would eventually be realized, as Kenneth Tynan, film critic of the LA Times, states, "as the apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe; a Virgin with Aztec features . . . the supreme expression of Mexican cultural identity and the patron saint of the continent." Theologians will discuss this film for many years, yet this is a film that will fascinate anyone of any persuasion. Perhaps one day mankind will learn that it is rather easy to conquer a man's body but his spirit is an entirely different matter. In this viewer's opinion, the ancient Aztecs are alive and well and living in Mexico as Catholics. Wisely, the Vatican is looking the other way. There is certainly something about "The Other Conquest" that has touched the Mexican people, for this has become the highest grossing drama in the history of Mexican Film. |