ROOSTERS
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1994 James Berardinelli
Rating (0 to 10): 8.0
Date Released: undetermined (Summer 1994) Running Length: 1:35 Rated: not yet rated (Language, mature themes, nudity)
Starring: Edward James Olmos, Sonia Braga, Maria Conchita Alonso, Danny Nucci, Sarah Lassez, Valente Rodriguez Director: Robert M. Young Screenplay: Milcha Sanchez-Scott based on her play Music: David Kitay U.S. distribution not yet decided
It has been my experience that many motion pictures suffer somewhat in retrospect. The further one gets from the theater, the more flaws come to light. With ROOSTERS, however, the opposite is true. The passage of time allows a viewer an opportunity to consider and digest. Those who do not enjoy interpreting certain film elements, and thus drawing their own conclusions, would do better to stay away from ROOSTERS.
Most of ROOSTERS takes place on the land of the Morales family near the Arizona/Mexico border. Here, Juana Morales (Sonia Braga), along with her sister-in-law Chata (Maria Conchita Alonso), is awaiting the return of her husband Gallo (Edward James Olmos), who has been in prison for the last seven years serving time for murder. Juana and Gallo have two children--Hector (Danny Nucci) and Angela (Sarah Lassez), who view their father's return differently. Hector is resentful, while Angie waits patiently and in open awe that HE is coming home.
On the surface, this is a film about cock fights. Gallo went to prison because he murdered a man over a prize bird, and the first thing he thinks about after getting out is how to raise a new breed of flying, jumping killers. This is a person who cares about one thing, and one thing only--his roosters. As we learn during the course of the film, there is nothing he won't sacrifice for them.
One of ROOSTERS' great strengths is its development of character relationships. Accomplished with subtlety and insight, and just enough ambiguity to keep us wondering about certain aspects, this is by far the highlight of Milcha Sanchez-Scotts script. There are several instances when incest is hinted at, but nothing is explicitly revealed. Each member of the audience must make his or her own decision about the truth.
Symbolism abounds, both religious and secular. The rooster, representative of machismo, plays a central role of all that transpires (as one might guess from the films title. Gallo continually equates his birds with his manhood, and the willingness to fight and be bloodied with the maturation process. His opinion of his son is linked to the young mans ability to handle to cocks.
Angela, the daughter to whom Gallo pays no heed, is in a state of arrested development. At fifteen years of age, she wants to grow younger. Childhood is her refuge, and the encroaching physical changes of becoming a woman frighten her. She seeks refuge in religious artifacts and a mystical world of her own invention, where she intercedes with saints and converses with angels.
ROOSTERS deals with the themes of freedom versus captivity, love versus obsession, and innocence versus reality. The climax toward which all of these build is possibly inevitable, and certainly foreshadowed, yet it is nevertheless the most powerful single moment of the motion picture. Little has been resolved as the final credits roll, and it's up to the viewer to decide exactly what happened, and what will come next.
If ROOSTERS has an obvious flaw, it lies in the dialogue, which is often too flowery or intellectual. The author is taking poetic license to get across her higher meaning, but on more than one occasion, a line is jarringly inappropriate for the speaker or the circumstances in which it is spoken.
The principal actors all do fine jobs, but the performance of newcomer Sarah Lassez is a standout. When she is on screen, she transfixes the audience with her blend of innocence and sensuality. Edward James Olmos, a seasoned veteran, has scene after scene stolen away from him by his much younger co-star.
ROOSTERS delves into Latino traditions to uncover universal themes. Adapted from a play, with an expectedly slow pace for a story making that transition, this movie holds the attention of its audience by its depth of meaning and richness of characters. ROOSTERS is not effortless entertainment, but it will reward those willing to absorb what it has to say, and the manner in which it says it.
- James Berardinelli (blake7@cc.bellcore.com)
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