U.S. actor Andy Garcia brings to life Jalisco-born General Enrique Gorostieta in the new English-language movie “Cristiada,” which opens on 500 screens across Mexico Friday, April 20.
The Mexican-financed movie chronicles the 1926-1929 Cristero War, the rebellion against President Elias Plutarco Calles’ attempt to enforce the anti-clerical provisions of the 1917 Mexican Constitution and in effect secularize the country.
Although Gorostieta was a mason and not religious, he eagerly took on the role of turning the Cristeros – mostly farmers from Jalisco and Guanajuato – into a fighting force at the request of the Liga Nacional Defensora de la Libertad Religiosa (National League for the Defense of Religious Liberty). A veteran of the Mexican Revolution and very politically ambitious, it is generally believed that he shared none of the convictions of the Catholic soldiers under his command, although he earned their respect by drilling them into a well-organized and effective army.
But, as director Dean Wright told the Catholic News Agency, the war gave Gorostieta a new perspective on religion.
“His goal was to help reestablish the right to freedom of religion for everyone,” Wright said, but in the course of the film “we see him rediscover not only the meaning of his life, but the meaning of his faith.”
In supporting roles, Peter O’Toole plays Padre Christopher, a priest dedicated to peace, while Mexican actor Santiago Cabrera takes the part of Padre Jose Reyes Vega, another priest who takes up arms and commits an atrocity that turns many Mexicans against the Cristero movement.Bruce Greenwood plays U.S. ambassador Dwight W. Morrow and Eva Longoria takes the role of Tulita, Gorostieta’s wife. Panamanian actor and singer Ruben Blades interprets President Calles.
Gorostieta was ambushed and killed in his hometown of Atotonilco el Alto, Jalisco (50 miles west of Guadalajara) just 19 days before a peace agreement brokered by Morrow was due to take effect.
Although much of the movie is based in Jalisco and Guanajuato, most of the filming took place in Durango, San Luis Potosi, Tlaxcala, Zacatecas and Puebla.
The production budget was reported to be around 20 million dollars – huge by Mexican standards, industry experts note.
“Cristiada” is the directorial debut of Wright, the visual effects supervisor on blockbusters such as Titanic, as well as some of the Chronicles of Narnia and Lord of the Rings series of films.
The film opens in the United States on June 1.