Bless Me, Ultima
User Score
6.3 out of 10

Generally favorable reviews- based on 4 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 4
  3. Negative: 1 out of 4

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  1. 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
  2. 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.
  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 opp    osite 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

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
65 out of 100

Generally favorable reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 17
  3. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. 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.
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  2. New Orleans Times-Picayune
    Reviewed by: Mike Scott
    Feb 22, 2013
    40
    Unfortunately, Franklin isn't quite as successful at capturing the depth of the traditions for which Anaya's source material is so well known.
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  3. 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.
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