Plot Details: This opinion reveals everything about the movie's plot.

This is the first entry in my Marlon Brando Write Off. It is also, shamefully, the first review of VIVA ZAPATA! at epinions (with the exception of Stephen_Murray's review of the screenplay, which can be found here).

~~~~~

VIVA ZAPATA! tells the story of Emiliano Zapata (Mr. Brando), a Mexican revolutionary who feels more comfortable in times of war than in times of peace. He is not well educated and is ashamed of this fact, but - as we see in scenes of political corruption - he is a man true to his values and to his people. This bothers the Mexican military very much, because once he wins the war, he cannot be bought and they will be forced to give him what he actually fought for. What is he fighting for? The land of his people that has been stolen by rich people indulging in their power.

Well, three government leaders later (the second of them being Zapata), the military is fed up with this honest man and decides that they must kill him in order to kill what he represents; they believe it is the only way for them to discourage his people to stop fighting. We sense something is wrong when Zapata trusts a former member of the opposite army, and, in a scene that is surprising yet inevitable, he is shot dozens and dozens of times.

But this is the most important part. His corpse is dragged across the desert and thrown to his people. The Mexican military hopes that their courage will die with Zapata. It almost does, but then a very magical cinematic moment occurs. A man who fought alongside Zapata says that the military cannot fool them. A body shot up that bad could be anybody. A skeptic asks, “Then where is he?” The man says that he’s in the mountains, gone now, but he will return if they ever need him. The skeptic looks out into the mountains, and the movie ends with his line:

“He’s in the mountains.”

We fade out on shot of Zapata’s gorgeous white horse; standing alone atop jagged rocks.

~~~~~

At first it is a bit difficult to see Marlon Brando as a Mexican. He actually just looks like Marlon Brando with a tan. But, once you are able to overlook this seemingly silly casting mistake, we see that Brando was perfect for the role for reasons truer now than they ever were before (more on that later).

Though he has no hugely dramatic scenes - such as the contender one from ON THE WATERFRONT or the “Stella!” one from STREETCAR - Brando’s performance is still as close to perfection as humanly possible. The most underrated thing an actor can possibly do is be quiet. It is infinitely more difficult to say everything by saying nothing that to say everything by giving a big speech. A more recent example of that would be the Oscars 2004. Bill Murray, at least in my mind, was the definite winner because he obtained the audience’s empathy through silence, not through gut-wrenching screaming. Brando hardly speaks in VIVA ZAPATA!, but this only furthers his diversity as an artist. We don’t need another contender speech because we can see exactly what he is thinking in his eyes, in his facial expressions. Now that’s acting.

Elia Kazan is the perfect director for Brando. As I learned through an ON THE WATERFRONT behind-the-scenes documentary, Kazan always gave Brando the freedom he needed for his talent to fully blossom. He both supported and encouraged his method acting, and, in an interview said that the only credit he deserved for all of it was being wise enough to never yell, “Cut!” To use the words of George W. Bush, Elia Kazan - having an actor as great as Marlon Brando in all his major films - was no doubt, “misunderestimated.”

For those of you unfamiliar with Spanish, “Viva Zapata!” literally means, “Live Zapata”. While this may initially seem similar to the phrase, “Long live the Queen,” it actually takes an entirely different meaning. The Mexican military tries to kill an idea by killing a man, but as our history books have taught us, you cannot do this. No matter how many bullets you shoot, Zapata will always be alive to his people.

So... does the UCLA Medical Center honestly think they can fool us? Lung failure cannot kill a man like Marlon Brando. He is not dead, nor will he ever die. He’s gone now - into the heavens* perhaps - but will return if ever we need him.

~~~~~

* I am not a Christian and I am not trying to impose religious beliefs on you. When I say “heavens”, I actually mean “somewhere else”, but I think you and I will both agree that “heavens” sounds better.

Recommended: Yes

Viewing Format: VHS