Jane Fonda plays Harriet Winslow, a single woman looking for a change of scenery. She figures to find it teaching children in Mexico.
Gregory Peck is an ill and disillusioned writer named Ambrose Bierce, who fears nothing as much as dying quietly in bed.
They both wind up meeting and becoming fond of Gen. Tomas Arroyo (Jimmy Smits), leader of a small army of Mexican rebels.
Arroyo’s men win an important victory, capturing the hacienda where he was raised.
But Arroyo becomes obsessed with his former home, and can’t be prodded back into action, even by his most trusted junior officers.
Review:
Beautifully filmed scenes and scenery can’t keep the film from dragging.
Not terrible, but not as good as one would expect from a film with such star power in the lead roles.
Directed by:
Luis Puenzo
Cast:
Jane Fonda … Harriet Winslow
Gregory Peck … Ambrose Bierce
Jimmy Smits … Gen. Tomas Arroyo
Patrico Contreras … Col. Garcia
Jenny Gago … La Garduna
Gabriela Roel … La Luna
Sergio Calderon … Zacarias
Guillermo Rios … Monsalvo
Jim Metzler … Ron
Samuel Valadez De La Torre … Consul Saunders
Anne Pitoniak … Mrs. Winslow
Pedro Armendariz Jr. … Pacho Villa
Stanley Grover … Gen. Saunders
Josefina Echanove … Clementina
Pedro Damian … Capt. Ovando
Maya Zapata … Dolores
Runtime: 119 min.
Memorable lines:
Ambrose Bierce: “It isn’t easy, at my age, to bring together the opportunity, the desire and the energy.”
La Garduna: “When gentlemen start talking about principles, we poor people lose what we don’t even have.”
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