Review of Amigo (2011) by Manny C — 21 Dec 2011

John Sayles is a one of a kind filmmaker (I mean have you seen Lone Star?) and a brilliant provocateur. His latest, Amigo, is no less a potent piece of work. Amigo is a look at American imperialism through the history of the United States occupation of the Philippines during the Spanish-American War. Sayles' source material is the novel A Moment in The Sun, but the writer-director focuses the action wonderfully on life in the village of San Isidro, a place torn by conflict.

Filipino actor Joel Torre is stellar as Rafael, a village big cheese who attempts to play amigo with the American occupiers, led by Lt. Compton (the sexy and excellent Garret Dillahunt from tv's Raising Hope) and his racist commander Col. Hardacre (Chris Cooper, superb as usual). This doesn't sit well with Rafael's brother Simon (Ronnie Lazaro) who leads a band of rebels, and the set up draws stark parallels to modern day conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Working with a 128 minute running time and a script in English, Spanish and Tagalog, Sayles is bound to trip up on his greater ambitions, and he does, but no sense in finding fault in a filmmaker striving for something felt and true. Years after his marvelous 1980 debut The Return of The Secaucus Seven, Sayles is still looking at the world through his own unique lens, and Amigo is a remarkable example of his skill. It stays with you.