Film review of Viva Zapata!

Plot Summary (spoiler alert!)

Viva Zapata! is a fictionalized account of the life of Mexican revolutionary, Emiliano Zapata (played by Marlon Brando).

In 1905, Zapata (Marlon Brando) is part of a delegation from the Mexican state of Morelos to the unelected president Porfirio Díaz, to protest seizure of their land by wealthy landowners. When Díaz insists that restoring their land must follow proper legal procedure, Zapata responds that they don’t have time to wait. Zapata’s intense desire for justice drives the film in Brando’s slow, brooding fashion, and draws him into a revolution which overthrows the tyrant Díaz. Victory is short-lived, however, as Zapata’s friends and compatriots slowly succumb to their new-found power, ending with the death of Emiliano Zapata in an ambush.

Review

The character web in the film is an achievement in itself. Zapata leads the revolution reluctantly, wanting nothing more than to live as he always has: a farmer working his own land. His drive for justice puts him at odds with society, including his future father-in-law who despises him for his low birth, and his love-interest-later-wife, Josefa (Jean Peters), who feels enstranged from him yet fears to lose him. His elder brother, Eufemio, supports his revolution, becomes a general, and uses his position to steal land and set himself up as its ruler. The coordinator of the revolution, Madero, appoints himself as president and shows no interest in restoring land rights to the peasants. Madero is then murdered by the head of the military, Huerta, who pursues Zapata’s forces into the mountains. A close friend gives information to Huerta, hoping to end the conflict, which results in the deaths of hundreds of men.

The final treachery is orchestrated by Zapata’s political advisor, Fernando Aguirre (Joseph Wiseman). An emissary from prospective president Madero to revolutionary outlaw Zapata, Aguirre is a writer, a thinker, and a logician. His “logic” leads him to support whoever is in power: first Madero, then Zapata, then general Huerta, and directly planning Zapata’s death. Through the first two-thirds of the film, Aguirre’s steady reasoning and cold determination makes him a social anomaly. He is Zapata’s mirror image, his final enemy, and it’s hard not to pity him.

Elia Kazan’s direction of Viva Zapata!, and particularly the cinematography by Joseph MacDonald, is superb. Marlon Brando’s character is portrayed as mostly stationary, never leaving nor entering the frame, seldom moving quickly. In the first scene, he goes unseen by the camera until the crowd around him moves away, revealing the silent hero — brooding, passionate, contemplative, impulsive, fighter, farmer, considered by many in Mexico to be a martyr.

Conclusion

The historical details of Viva Zapata! are not entirely accurate. Many events are simplified for ease of viewing, but the main discrepancy is Emiliano Zapata’s overall social standing. The film portray’s him as illiterate and almost penniless. The real Zapata had a limited education and was a man of some means.

These details are insignificant to the quality of the film itself. Superb cinematography, spare and well-written dialogue, and a great character web, make Viva Zapata! a well-rounded film.