SparkMore n my opinion it was a great movie with some interesting elements, even though having some plot holes and the ending probably was just too messy and crammed together, but still fun to watch and not your casual movie that is similar to all other ones.

Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Mehdi Hoffman There's a more than satisfactory amount of boom-boom in the movie's trim running time.

Jerrie It's a good bad... and worth a popcorn matinée. While it's easy to lament what could have been...

Daniel Trankina After reading the novel by Rudolfo Anaya, I watched the movie and the first thing i noticed was Franklin's use of added music on the soundtrack. He uses a lot of natural sounds like crickets, birds, and flowing water along with an erie tribal music that seems to be constantly building up to something. Franklin commonly showed the landscapes of the New Mexico filming location by using extreme long shots and tracking shots with the sounds to really make the nature come alive as it does in the story with Ultima. Collectively all the diegetic sounds, nondiegetic sounds, and landscape shots combine to convey the nature theme so heavily embedded in the book. Franklin did a good job showing the power held by the moon and sun in the story by placing images of them in fade in/out transitions during important interactions between characters. For example we see the sun making the transition between a close up of Ultima's face to Antonio's in the moment where they first meet. As far as the acting I found a lot of the lines feeling unnatural and forced. Although a lot of the scenes involved children making it harder to get great acting I thought overall the acting in this film was poor. Was it effective? The main conflict in the book is Antonio's inner struggle but unfortunately the movie misses a few key features that causes this theme to get left out. For starters the film is narrated by Antonio but the issue is his voice is that of a grown mans. During the book he is only seven and is confused about all the new information he's getting which gives us that sense of struggle with identity. But with a grown up's voice it sounds like he already has everything figured out so we lose that aspect. They should have gotten a child for the voice over. Antonio was also struggling with the need for everlasting innocence and we saw some of that desire being crushed once he finds out his brother is at Rosie's. In the book this causes Antonio to question the world and himself but in the movie is reaction and thoughts are glossed over. Movies can't do everything the book does and overall I think the Franklin and his team did a good job apart from subpar acting and missing a few themes. Mr.Sieck's Novels into Film

Reno Rangan The film poster says that it was based on the controversial novel. I don't know anything about that, but I feel it was referred like that for the marketing purpose. Anyway, it was a good, an unexpectedly good movie that came my way. Being a fan of the kids movie I loved it very much. Not only that, the diverged story with often the plot that meets fantasy and reality at a certain quantity was told in a great quality. It might be a story of the kid, but many stuffs were cruel and violent that I doubt does it fit for children to watch. As it set during just after the second world war, I think the harsh side of the story was extremely essential. And also being true to the book.The story was narrated from the character Antonio who takes us back to his childhood days. When he was a 7-year-old kid, he lived in a small village of the New Mexico. He was raised in a farmer family who was well respected in the town. One day an old lady called Ultima comes to join his family to live forth. Soon Antonio and Ultima begin to have a close relationship. As a medicine woman she teaches everything about mending and curing. And as a wise woman she resolves Antonio's doubts over the good and the bad. As a sudden a conflict between Ultima and a witch family from the town begin to take a wing. As a little boy nothing much he can do than witnessing which brings the end of his narration.''A man's destiny must unfold itself like a flower. With only the sun, earth and water, making it blossom.''It was from the first book of the four book series. And I am eager to know more about Antonio and his story of the different section of life. Hope they make those remaining 3 movies. This is a coming-of-age story and about a boy who is interested to become a priest which is well backed by his family. At the early age itself, he begins to learn the lessons with the help of the experienced hand. Kind of incredible journey of a little smart boy. The world he sees through his eyes was the story told about the human nature that collide between good and bad. The cast was not recognizable, probably I am seeing all of them for the first time. But the performances were very good. Apart from the boy and an old woman the remaining cast was also good. The movie was shot in the lovely places, captured beautiful dry landscapes, but there were a couple of scenes in the rain. Overall, a great movie, far from exhibiting the existing culture, but conflict remained the same. I feel like I must appreciate author as well this filmmaker to give such a nice movie.

Peter Pluymers A simple and beautiful imaged coming-of-age story. The film is based on a novel by Rudolfo Anaya, an American author and one of the founders of modern Chicano literature. Antonio tells the story of him growing up in New Mexico under the watchful eye of Ultima, a curandera or healer. Ultima has knowledge about healing herbs. Most people see her as a person who possesses supernatural powers and cures diseases caused by evil spirits. Those diseases are believed to be a punishment from God. Others see Ultima as a kind of witch ( Bruja ) who can transform into an owl. Antonio accompanies her while she collects medicinal herbs. He visits with her the sick and begins to understand the connectedness of nature with the process of healing even though he never gets an explicit scientific explanation about the healingproces, how she casts spells onto witches or why she sometimes decides not to intervene.Don't expect a flashy entertaining and action-packed movie. Despite the film proceeds in a sluggish manner while creating an image of this community in Guadalupe, the film was able to captivate me. I've never read the novel. So I can't judge whether the film follows the book to a great extent or not. The main part of the film shows the relationship between Ultima and Antonio. You notice immediately that there is a very strong link between those two from the first moment they have met. The fragments where Ultima passes her knowledge of medicinal plants and herbs to Antonio, are beautiful and very emotionally. The moment Ultima is on her way to heal an uncle of Antonio is actually a key moment. There is a curse on him by the daughter of a local resident named Tenorio Trementina. Eventually, Antonio faces a kind of exorcism, followed by the application of a kind of voodoo ritual.The ongoing theme is Antonio's Christian faith that is developing, while being confronted with primitive rituals . The moment he celebrates ​​his First Holy Communion and supposedly be one with God, he sees the chance to get an answer on a question about Narciso. The fact that he receives no response ensures that there is doubt about the whole Christian faith. The death of a boyfriend who disbelieves cause there's been done so much injustice to him, probably also has a big influence.The acting of Ultima and Antonio by Miriam Colon and Luke Ganalon is excellent and credible. Colon is a female Mexican version of "Gandalf" with a strong personality despite her old age, and a furrowed, tanned face that radiates wisdom. However, the best player is Ganalon. Superb acting. The supporting cast is perfectly chosen.So if you want to experience a zen-moment among all the other action-packed and exciting movies, then you should try this film.More reviews at http://opinion-as-a-moviefreak.blogspot.be/

chrisrapp8 Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me, Ultima is now both a movie and a book. Both describe the process of a child growing up into a man, along with a constant presence of magical realism throughout. The book better described the mood of the story as a whole. In the book you had a first person account of Antonio as he narrates his feelings and describes his thoughts. This narration was a much better way to show the overall mood of the story. The book also included many parts of the story that the movie left out. However, both the movie and the book have their advantages and disadvantages. The movie could visually show you what the book could not. The movie showed and described the characters in person so it brought you closer to the story than the book could have done. A book's descriptions can only go so far, the movie showed you directly. This visual aid helped set the setting a lot better, making the rest of the story easier to understand. From both accounts, the story of Bless Me Ultima was rich in culture and the process of how life works from a boy's eyes. Christopher