The Other Conquest by Salvador Carrasco is a fascinating story about the aftermath of the Spanish colonization of the Aztec Indians. The first part of the film takes place in nature and jungle, the other within a monastery. This, together with the wonderful cinematography and its majestic soundtrack, will keep you entranced to, and also provide authenticity to, the world depicted.
We meet the protagonist Topiltzin who managed to survive a massacre, but he is later captured by the Spaniards. The leader of the conquistadors Hernán Cortés decides to spare his life by having Friar Diego convert him to Catholicism, thus changing his name to Tomás. Topiltzin/Tomás is bereaved from his language and religion and forced to learn Spanish and worship the Virgin Mary. What is the other conquest? If we exclude the Spanish conquest of the Aztec land, we have several possible answers. Could it be the conquest of their religion, their culture, language, or something else?
Religion and spirituality plays a big role in this film. Topiltzin discovers that his own religion, in which they worship the Mother Goddess, a deity not too different looking from the Virgin Mary statue, is very similar to Christianity. This film allows you to compare two very different religions presented. In one scene, we witness a human sacrifice made by the Aztecs to the Mother Goddess. A group of conquistadors happens to enter this holy site during the ceremony, and despises what they see. They find the sacrifice and cannibalism revolting, which is interesting considering Christianity is based on self-sacrifice and a symbolic cannibalism through the Holy Communion. What Salvador Carrasco this is trying to tell us is that there are more similarities than differences between these two cultures.
Needless to say, the conquistadors refuse to see these "heathen" Indians as equals. However, regardless of the ordeals that Topiltzin goes through and how much the Spaniards and the church try to impose their ways on him, he manages to keep his cultural integrity intact and preserve his own identity. So in the end Topiltzin has, in his mind, turned the statue of the Virgin Mary into the Mother Goddess. This way he was able to defy the intruding religion and at the same time conquer it, giving a whole new meaning to the title of the film.
This film is leaning towards formalism in the way it uses powerful imagery to convey a message, rather than using dialogue. For a film dealing with a topic so often associated with genocide we only see very little violence. There is a very memorable torture scene and we get to see the results of the massacre, and all this under the watchful eye of the sky, the sun. We see this beautiful recurring shot of the sun, which is symbolically important in the film. Not only because sacrifices in the Aztec belief were made to please the sun, but also in terms of story. When the sun sets towards the end of the film, it is an indication that not only is Topiltzin's time up, but also his people's culture with everything it includes.
With its captivating story, beautiful scenery, and stunning musical score, it is definitely a must see. It is also one of very few films that deal with the Aztec's point of view of the conquest. It deserves all credit it can get, I recommend it strongly.
We meet the protagonist Topiltzin who managed to survive a massacre, but he is later captured by the Spaniards. The leader of the conquistadors Hernán Cortés decides to spare his life by having Friar Diego convert him to Catholicism, thus changing his name to Tomás. Topiltzin/Tomás is bereaved from his language and religion and forced to learn Spanish and worship the Virgin Mary. What is the other conquest? If we exclude the Spanish conquest of the Aztec land, we have several possible answers. Could it be the conquest of their religion, their culture, language, or something else?
Religion and spirituality plays a big role in this film. Topiltzin discovers that his own religion, in which they worship the Mother Goddess, a deity not too different looking from the Virgin Mary statue, is very similar to Christianity. This film allows you to compare two very different religions presented. In one scene, we witness a human sacrifice made by the Aztecs to the Mother Goddess. A group of conquistadors happens to enter this holy site during the ceremony, and despises what they see. They find the sacrifice and cannibalism revolting, which is interesting considering Christianity is based on self-sacrifice and a symbolic cannibalism through the Holy Communion. What Salvador Carrasco this is trying to tell us is that there are more similarities than differences between these two cultures.
Needless to say, the conquistadors refuse to see these "heathen" Indians as equals. However, regardless of the ordeals that Topiltzin goes through and how much the Spaniards and the church try to impose their ways on him, he manages to keep his cultural integrity intact and preserve his own identity. So in the end Topiltzin has, in his mind, turned the statue of the Virgin Mary into the Mother Goddess. This way he was able to defy the intruding religion and at the same time conquer it, giving a whole new meaning to the title of the film.
This film is leaning towards formalism in the way it uses powerful imagery to convey a message, rather than using dialogue. For a film dealing with a topic so often associated with genocide we only see very little violence. There is a very memorable torture scene and we get to see the results of the massacre, and all this under the watchful eye of the sky, the sun. We see this beautiful recurring shot of the sun, which is symbolically important in the film. Not only because sacrifices in the Aztec belief were made to please the sun, but also in terms of story. When the sun sets towards the end of the film, it is an indication that not only is Topiltzin's time up, but also his people's culture with everything it includes.
With its captivating story, beautiful scenery, and stunning musical score, it is definitely a must see. It is also one of very few films that deal with the Aztec's point of view of the conquest. It deserves all credit it can get, I recommend it strongly.
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