''Bless Me, Ultima'' is a 2012 American
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. The drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular ...
written and directed by
Carl Franklin
Carl Franklin (born April 11, 1949) is an American filmmaker and former actor. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in direc ...
and starring Luke Ganalon and
Míriam Colón
Míriam Colón Valle (August 20, 1936 – March 3, 2017) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actress. She was the founder and director of New York City's Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Beginning her career in the early 1950s, she performed on Bro ...
. It is an adaptation of the
1972 novel of the same name by
Rudolfo Anaya
Rudolfo Anaya (October 30, 1937June 28, 2020) was an American author. Noted for his 1972 novel '' Bless Me, Ultima'', Anaya was considered one of the founders of the canon of contemporary Chicano and New Mexican literature. The themes and cult ...
.
Plot
The social-psychological maturation of a
Hispano
The term Hispanic () are people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an ethnic or meta-ethnic term.
The term commonly applie ...
, living on the eastern plains of New Mexico during the 1940s. The novel begins with Ultima, a curandera, or folk healer, going to live with the Márez family during the summer. Antonio is preoccupied with and anxious about attending school and having to be separated from his mother. Related to these concerns is his engrossment with knowing his destiny. This concern is exacerbated by his mother's desire that he become a priest to a community of farmers, where her family lives. At the same time, Antonio is concerned about realizing the wandering desire that stems from his paternal lineage.
Antonio is nearly at the point of starting religious study for his first holy communion and is becoming concerned with good and evil in the world. Early in the novel, he witnesses the killing of Lupito, a war veteran, and fears that his father may be punished by God for being with the guys who killed Lupito. Antonio is deeply concerned about the fate of Lupito's soul.
As the novel develops, Antonio's fears and concerns intensify and become woven together as he struggles to understand the events surrounding his life. He becomes preoccupied with questions about his destiny, life and death, and good and evil. Ultima conveys an indigenous viewpoint to him that provides guidance when he loses confidence in parental viewpoints and the teachings of the Church. Ultima tells him the stories and legends of his ancestors, and he comes to understand how the history of his people stirs his blood. Through her, Antonio learns the "old ways" and develops a new relationship with nature. This relationship opens him to the contemplation of the possibility of other gods.
Antonio learns there are powers in the world that differ from those honored by the Catholic faith. He helps Ultima perform a healing that saves the life of his Uncle Lucas, who had been bewitched by the Trementina sisters. Later, he witnesses another healing performed by Ultima and begins to understand the world differently; he learns to overcome his fears, especially his fear of change. In the end, Antonio understands himself and the world around him better, and he learns to accept life and the many challenges that it presents.
Cast
* Luke Ganalon as Antonio
*
Míriam Colón
Míriam Colón Valle (August 20, 1936 – March 3, 2017) was a Puerto Ricans, Puerto Rican actress. She was the founder and director of New York City's Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Beginning her career in the early 1950s, she performed on Bro ...
as Ultima
*
Benito Martinez as Gabriel
*
Dolores Heredia
Dolores Heredia Lerma (; born October 6, 1966) is a Mexican actress.
Personal life
She is the seventh of ten children who grew up in La Paz, Baja California Sur. Her mother was a photographer from Sinaloa, Lusiana Kornal and her father was a ...
as Maria
*
Cástulo Guerra
Cástulo Guerra (born August 24, 1945) is an Argentine actor who has appeared in several American films and television shows.
He has appeared in the films ''The Usual Suspects'' (1995), ''The Mexican'' (2001) and '' The Purge: Anarchy'' (2014).
...
as Tenorio
*
Alfred Molina
Alfred Molina (born Alfredo Molina; 24 May 1953) is a British and American actor. He is known for his leading roles and character actor roles on the stage and screen. In a career spanning over five decades he has received a Drama Desk Award ...
as voice of Antonio
*
Joaquín Cosío
Joaquín Cosío Osuna (born 6 October 1962) is a Mexicans, Mexican actor and poet. He has been nominated four times for the Academia Mexicana de Artes y Ciencias Cinematográficas, Mexican Academy of Film Ariel Awards, winning the Ariel Award f ...
as Narciso
*
Manuel Garcia-Rulfo
Manuel García-Rulfo Lapuente (born February 25, 1981) is a Mexico, Mexican actor. He is known for his starring role as lawyer Mickey Haller in the television legal drama series The Lincoln Lawyer (TV series), ''The Lincoln Lawyer'' since 2022. H ...
as Uncle Pedro
* Reko Moreno as Uncle Lucas
* Luis Bordonada as Uncle Juan
*
Joseph A. Garcia as Uncle Mateo
*
Raúl Castillo Raul Castillo may refer to:
* Raúl Castillo (actor), American actor and playwright
* Raul Castillo (fighter), American mixed martial artist
* Raúl Castillo (footballer), Mexican footballer
{{hndis ...
as Andrew
Other notable appearances include
Bernardo Saracino as Lupito.
Production
''
Variety
Variety may refer to:
Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats
* Variety (radio)
* Variety show, in theater and television
Films
* ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont
* ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...
'' reported on March 2, 2009 that
Christy Walton
Christy Ruth Walton (née Tallant; born February 8, 1949) is an American billionaire heiress and philanthropist. She is the widow of John T. Walton, who was one of the sons of the Walmart founder Sam Walton.
In June 2005, her husband died in ...
, heiress to the Walton fortune, had set up Tenaja Productions company solely to finance a film adaptation of ''
Bless Me, Ultima
''Bless Me, Ultima'' is a coming-of-age novel by Rudolfo Anaya centering on Antonio Márez y Luna and his mentorship under his '' curandera'' and protector, Ultima. It has become the most widely read and critically acclaimed novel in the New Mexi ...
''. Monkey Hill Films' Sarah DiLeo is billed as producer with collaboration and support from
Mark Johnson of Gran Via Productions and Jesse B. Franklin of Monarch Pictures.
Carl Franklin
Carl Franklin (born April 11, 1949) is an American filmmaker and former actor. Franklin is a graduate of University of California, Berkeley, and continued his education at the AFI Conservatory, where he graduated with an M.F.A. degree in direc ...
was hired as the writer and director. Walton and DiLeo shared a passion for the book, and the latter had succeeded in convincing Anaya to agree to the adaptation over six years earlier.

Shooting was scheduled in the
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque ( ; ), also known as ABQ, Burque, the Duke City, and in the past 'the Q', is the List of municipalities in New Mexico, most populous city in the U.S. state of New Mexico, and the county seat of Bernalillo County, New Mexico, Bernal ...
area, and then resumed in Santa Fe for some interiors at Garson Studios on the
Santa Fe University of Art and Design
Santa Fe University of Art and Design (SFUAD) was a private for-profit art school in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The university was built from the non-profit College of Santa Fe (CSF), a Catholic facility founded as St. Michael's College in 1859, and ...
campus during the last week in October 2010. Filming wrapped in Santa Fe, New Mexico in late 2010.
The film credits thank
The College of Santa Fe, Ruby Ranch, The Pecos River Ranch, Santa Cruz Lake Recreational Area, and Albuquerque. Locations include Albuquerque, New Mexico; Rowe, New Mexico; Las Vegas, New Mexico; and Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Release
''Bless Me, Ultima'' premiered at the
Plaza Theatre in
El Paso, Texas
El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...
on September 17, 2012 and received a general release in February 2013.
Reception
''Bless Me, Ultima'' has a 69% from critics on
Rotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is an American review aggregator, review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee ...
based on 35 reviews.
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bless Me Ultima
2012 films
2012 drama films
2010s English-language films
American drama films
American World War II films
Films based on American novels
Films directed by Carl Franklin
Films set in 1944
Films set in New Mexico
Films shot in New Mexico
2010s American films