Amigo

Review coming from Contributor: Julia Webster by August 31

Featuring:	DJ Qualls … Zeke Chris Cooper … Col. Hardacre Garret Dillahunt … Lt. Compton Dane DeHaan … Gil Lucas Neff … Shanker Yul Vazquez … Padre Hidalgo James Parks … Sgt. Runnels Stephen Taylor … Private Bates Bill Tangradi … Dutch Joel Torre … Rafael Pen Medina … Albay Rio Locsin … Corazon Bembol Roco … Policarpio Ronnie Lazaro … SImon Brian Lee Franklin … Cpl. Lynch Irma Adlawan … Josefa John Arcilla … Nenong Jemi Paretas … Zuniga Spanky Manikan … Tuba Joe Merlin Bonning … Creighton Ermie Concepcion … Dolores Raul Morit … Chief Raul Manikan … Felix Miguel Faustman … Captan Narvaez Joe Gruta … Hilario Art Acuna … Locsin more » Bobby Guay … Background Soldier (uncredited) Rainer Moore … American Soldier (uncredited)
Director:	John Sayles
Producer:	Pinoy Pictures Arleen Cuevas … line producer Mario Ontal … co-producer Maggie Renzi … producer Margie Templo … line producer Joel Torre … co-producer
Distributor:	Variance Films

“The heart remembers what even history forgets.”

Producer’s synopsis: “a film by John Sayles / A fictional account of events during the Philippine-American War.

AMIGO, the 17th feature film from writer-director John Sayles, stars Joel Torre as Rafael Dacanay, a village mayor caught in the murderous cross-fire of the Philippine-American War in 1900.

When U.S. troops garrison his village, Rafael comes under pressure to collaborate from the blood-and-guts Colonel Hardacre (Chris Cooper) as he tries not to betray his people. But the situation is complex. Rafael’s brother Simón (Ronnie Lazaro) is the head of the local Filipino guerillas, and considers any concessions to the Americans to be traitorous. A devious Spanish friar (Yul Vazquez) is charged with translating, but thwarts communication with his spiteful intrigues. A sympathetic American lieutenant (Garret Dillahunt) begins to learn that “hearts and minds” cannot be won at gunpoint.

Rafael is forced to make the near-impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by civilians in an occupied country. Friendship and betrayal, romance and heart-breaking violence, AMIGO is a page torn from the forgotten history of imperialism and a mirror of today’s unresolvable conflicts.”

“…‘Amigo’ is not a simplistic parable of diabolical colonialists and their innocent victims.… ‘Amigo’ is a well-carpentered narrative, fast-moving and emphatic, stepping nimbly from gravity to good humor.…”
—A.O. Scott, The New York Times

“…John Sayles tackles imperialism, racism and war in a film centered on the Philippine-American War.… the contemporary resonance of this portrait of racism and war, however obvious, is fully felt.”
—Sheri Linden, Los Angeles Times

“…Sayles has always had to work cheaply, but for the first time, the cheapness shows. The ‘vast’ jungle never looks much bigger than an acre or two; the massive U.S. Army seems to operate out of a bare office, and a tent. The picture is small, and cramped. But its people, and its ideas, aren’t. They’re big enough to still deserve some careful consideration.…”
—Stephen Whitty, The Star-Ledger (New Jersey)

“…overlong… preachy drama about the 1900 conquest of the former Spanish colony of the Philippines by the United States… [2/4]”
—Lou Lumenick, New York Post

“…A complex political statement, ‘Amigo’ is epic in scale but trades the schmaltz of the traditional war film for a more resolute treatment of subject. The themes, characters and plotlines are hefty and resonant, and writer/director John Sayles treats each with sensitivity.…”
—Barbara Goslawski, Boxoffice Magazine

“…Good looking, atmospheric and steeped in the culture of the rural Philippines of the time… Sayles depicts the young U.S. soldiers as a rough and tender mix, with most having learned to demonize the enemy even as the Filipinos they meet turn out to be friendly and cooperative.…”
—Ray Bennett, Associated Press

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