Bless Me, Ultima
Bless Me, Ultima Image
See the trailer
Metascore
65

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics What's this?

User Score
6.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 6 Ratings

Your Score
0 out of 10
Rate this:
  • 10
  • 9
  • 8
  • 7
  • 6
  • 5
  • 4
  • 3
  • 2
  • 1
  • 0
  • 0

Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. Chicago Sun-Times
    Reviewed by: Roger Ebert
    Feb 20, 2013
    100
    Carl Franklin's film is true to the tone and spirit of the book. It is patient and in no hurry. It allows a balanced eye for the people in its hero's family who tug him one way and another.
  2. Christian Science Monitor
    Reviewed by: Peter Rainer
    Feb 22, 2013
    75
    Writer-director Carl Franklin offers up a tone of heightened reverence that weighs down the material, but there are small, lovely moments when the magic realism approaches the magical.
  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Stephen Farber
    Feb 21, 2013
    70
    This material would never have attracted a major studio, so Christy Walton — heir to the Wal-Mart fortune — financed the picture herself, not because of any desire to become a movie mogul but simply because of her passion for the novel. She allowed the filmmakers to work without major stars or obvious commercial hooks added to the story. Although the film doesn’t always sustain dramatic impact, its fidelity to the spirit of the novel is impressive.
  4. St. Louis Post-Dispatch
    Reviewed by: Joe Williams
    Feb 21, 2013
    63
    Obviously a labor love, and its very existence in a godforsaken marketplace is a minor miracle.
  5. Village Voice
    Reviewed by: Ernest Hardy
    Feb 26, 2013
    60
    Volumes are said about class, assimilation, and the ways the assimilated sometimes shame and scar those who haven't shorn themselves of ethnic or racial signifiers. There is pungency in this shorthand, in these sketches that are richly evocative without saying too much or giving too little. You can't help but wish the movie had more of it.
  6. Miami Herald
    Reviewed by: Connie Ogle
    Feb 21, 2013
    50
    The film isn’t overlong. But it tries to fit so many themes into its brief running time — that it merely touches on most conflicts instead of exploring them in depth or with any delicacy.
  7. Arizona Republic
    Reviewed by: Randy Cordova
    Feb 22, 2013
    40
    The lyrical book is filled with touches of magical realism. On the other hand, the movie is sorely lacking in both magic and realism. It’s all very empty and blah.

See all 17 Critic Reviews

User Reviews

Write a Review
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 2 out of 4
  1. Gwen
    Feb 23, 2013
    8
    Picked this movie on a whim. Glad that I did. Convincing performances, although Castulo Guerra's portrayal of Tenorio seemed a little over the top at times. I thought the storyline was pretty taut, and the themes of spirituality and justice are played well. Would not be surprised if this made many critics' top 10 lists for 2013.… Expand
  2. Bikerjames
    Feb 26, 2013
    7
    If you're tired of the usual Hollywood loud special effects films, or the extended bad sit-com movies, this might be an option for you. Slow paced and dialogue driven, spiritual, and completely watchable. The success of the entire movie depends on child actor Luke Ganalon, and he does an excellent job in the title role. One day an elderly medicine woman (a "Curandera") arrives at young Antonio's home to spend the final days of her life, and there is an instant bond between the two. She teaches him the ways of her healing and magic, and the special relationship Man shares with the earth. Curanderas are both revered and feared in their culture, and she is seen as an evil witch by some. The only problem I had with the movie is that it is narrated by the older Antonio in parts, and it is never explained who he has become as an adult. Still, a well done film.… Expand
  3. netflic
    Mar 4, 2013
    3
    Hm-m, where do I begin? Yes this movie is different from a typical Hollywood movie. Does it necessarily mean better? I don't think so. Not in this particular case.
    The set is beautiful. But that is nearly the only positive thing I am telling about the movie. The screenplay did not impress me. It is admittedly difficult to make a good script out of a good book. Acting? What would be an opposite of "stand out"? "Obscure"? That is how I could describe most of kids' performances including the main character. He is so cute! Maybe the director assumed that good looks could replace acting skills? With the same expression the hero watches how tragic things happen all around him. Truly, it is beyond y comprehension, why most of critics are so hype about the movie...    … Expand
  4. stund
    Sep 27, 2013
    3
    Read professional critic reviews scoring equal to or less than 50...Yeah, what they said. Excited when I saw this offering on streaming video, I watched patiently for an hour and thirty-four minutes, ignoring the depictions very broad strokes. Stunned I was when I realized that the filmmakers had utterly failed to capture what, to my mind, is an iconic moment in literature, akin to Gandalf standing his ground on a narrow stone bridge over an abyss. Good to see film treatment of a great story too-long neglected; bad because a "reboot" will, likely, never happen.… Expand

Trailers

Current Movie Releases

Full List »
96 Gravity
83 Captain Phillips
81 The World's End
75 Rush
74 Prisoners
72 The Grandmaster
66 Lee Daniels' The Butler
66 Don Jon
66 You're Next
61 Metallica: Through the Never
55 Instructions Not Included
49 Riddick
44 The Family
44 Jobs
41 Machete Kills
41 Kick-Ass 2
40 Insidious: Chapter 2
36 Runner Runner
33 The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones
22 Getaway
All Current Movies »