I'm going to be featuring only one movie per update for my next few posts. This should help me keep my goal of still updating every other day, and will keep me from running out of movies to post about. I anticipate returning to two movies per post in a little while.
I often stay for the entirety of the end credits when I see a film, even if it wasn't that good. It's a nice way to slowly detach from the world of the film and get back to real life.
I never leave before a movie is over, no matter how bad it is. If a film truly offends me on a level deeper than it being just a sub-par film, the greatest insult I can give it is to ensure that I am up out of my seat and rapidly moving for the exit the second the end credits start. That is what I did here.
Films that are sympathetic to a particular political point of view are sometimes so sure of their own opinion's infallibility that they don't bother to justify it. For me, it doesn't usually matter whether or not I agree with the film's point of view. All it has to do is justify that viewpoint within the context of the film. For example, I don't believe in the conspiracy theories espoused by Oliver Stone's "JFK". I am aware that there are factual inaccuracies in the film, but I am still able to enjoy it because it takes the time to establish the main character's actions as virtuous within the world of the film. I don't necessarily leave the film with the opinions on history that the filmmakers may have wanted me to, but I do leave it entertained.
In the case of "Cesar Chavez", the filmmaker's unwavering faith in their own opinions manifests itself in the protagonists. Most of the characters are self-righteous and overly sanctimonious. Midway through the film, a worker's strike led by the title character has led to a businessman being willing to negotiate and capitulate to some of their demands. During the negotiation scene, several of the workers crowd the businessman's office, being loud and disrespectful. One of them even goes into an adjoining bathroom and starts urinating without closing the door. I sat in the theatre dumbfounded. Were these really the characters I was supposed to be rooting for? There were many other similar scenes in the film.
I don't know much about the real life events this film was based on. Maybe the crass behavior was accurately portrayed. But films like this need to make the protagonists likeable if they want to successfully connect with the audience. By making them unlikeable, it connected with me in a different way--I actually began to root for the antagonists (which is never fun, because you know they're going to lose).
I've seen over sixty films in the theatre so far this year. This one is by far my least favorite. It was smarmy, sanctimonious bullshit. Even though I saw it for free, I'm ashamed that using my Movie Pass contributed in any way to the film's box office.
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