Review of Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974) by David K — 08 Dec 2004

"You take care of the son, I'll take care of the father".

I love the Mexican landscape. The sun drenched deserts, the dirt encrested roads, the small towns lining the way, the cathedrals glistening in the desert sun, the sun-scarred citizens, the small drunken bars; legendary director Sam Peckinpah's underseen tragic masterpiece "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia" perfectly uses its setting to pulsate the tone of the picture.

Peckinpah starts in a small upscale Mexican town, guarded by armed men and a gate that requires the visitor to be thoroughly checked before entering. A pregnant woman is near the river relaxing and taking in the setting when another woman runs to her. The two have a brief conversation in Spanish and the pregnant woman is lead into the chapel. Here, the woman finds her father, angry at her. It soon becomes apparent that a studly Mexican man has knocked his daughter up and ran away.

"Bring me the head of Alredo Garcia", the angry father commands.

From this point on, the film focuses on a bartender named Bennie (played to perfection by Warren Oates) who takes on the job of finding Alfredo's head. It turns out his female interest may know more about this Garcia as she is leading on; eventually, Peckinpah reveals a key few things and the quest to find Alfredo is on.

Peckinpah directs his film with unparalled grace and power. He restrains himself when need be and only showcases his stylistic touches when necesary. For instance, early on, as Bennie and his wife/fiance Elita (Esila Vega) have a small picnic on the way to find Alfredo. A green station wagon flies by them, Peckinpah cues to slow-mo as the passengers in the car and Bennie's eyes meet. It's one of the first times in the film that Peckinpah showcases one of his (apparent; this is my first Peckinpah) trademark touches; slow-motion. It's only brought out in gunfights or just prior to them. Most of the film is shot from a medium angle, to give the viewer the presence of an observer. Peckinpah does get us in close to the action, particularly during the last couple of spurts of violence. He's careful not to overuse the stylistic touches; he really creates a perfect combination of restraint and indulgence behind the camera.

The acting of the film is great; Warren Oates gives one of the best performances I've ever seen on celluloid. From his calm and cool demeanor during the beggining to his slow borderline-schizophrenic descent into madness, Oates completely emobodies his role. Also good are his wife, played by Esila Vega, and Robert Webber and Gig Young as the two that hire Bennie. Hell, Kris Kristofferson does a good job in his cameo.

At its core, "Alfredo Garcia" is a love story. More emphasis is placed on developing the relationship of Bennie and Elita than finding Garcia. Peckinpah is able to make his film all the more powerful through developing the relationships of his characters. This seems like a lost art in today's cinema.

Obviously, I loved "Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia". Though the body count does get a tad bit ridiculous towards the end, it really doesn't hurt the film. Its protagonist is never portrayed as bulletproof, and comes off as more of a real person than a cardboard cutout cliche ala Creasy from "Man on Fire". Pekcinpah shoots the violence in his film with an apt amount of style, but still is able to shock the viewer; it's not an action film and it's not presented as such. This a film that, if you can get a hold of it, you should most definitely watch. It is one of the most rewarding and powerful that I have ever seen. I'm actually mad at myself for putting it off for so long.

[b]Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia- ([color=Red]96[color=Black])[/color][/color][/b].