Movie review – “Amigos” (2010) ***

John Sayles turns his considerable talents to a war about which I confess I didn't even know existed - the American-Philippine War which followed the Spanish-American War, where the Yanks kicked out the Spaniards but decided to stay. The parallels to Vietnam are astonishing: you have a troop of Americans taking over a village, where the locals are torn between loyalties to insurrectionists, the Catholic church, the attractions of the newcomers (democracy, money), desire for independence. There's even an IT techno geek amongst the Americans (played by DJ Qualls - only he's a whiz with the telegraph rather than computers).

Sayles is careful to paint things in shades of grey as opposed to black and white: the Americans introduce democracy... at the point of the gun and under their supervision; the Catholic Church offers great solace to the people... and rips off the locals; the rebels in the hills are brave and tough... and so ruthless they kill innocent victims to mess with the Americans' heads; the tough colonel (Chris Cooper) is ruthless... but out of a desire to end the war quickly; there's a real bad ass rebel who seems to be invincible... but he's not.

Strong performances from a very good cast. Joel Torres impresses as the head of the village, kind of a bank manager figure, a decent guy caught up in circumstances beyond his control, the poor bastard. The bald guy who plays the bass ass is also great - he could easily be an action hero. Production value is high as well.

My main criticism of the film is it could have been a bit more exciting... The central story is full of opportunities for a little more of that old New World pizazz - lonely sentries at night guarding an outpost surrounded by an infested jungle, late night raids, a race against the clock, romance, etc. Sayles could have kept all his story and political points, just thrown in some thrills as well. Maybe the effort to get this made meant he ran out of puff.