The Ballad of Gregorio Cortez

This 1982 independent feature, financed in part by PBS and broadcast on American Playhouse before it was released in theaters, is inspired by a ballad and also based on a true story. Edward James Olmos stars as Gregorio Cortez, a Mexican-American farmer in 1901 Texas who goes on the run after a miscommunication ends with a shootout and the killing of an American sheriff, successfully eluding a posse for two weeks in what was the biggest manhunt in Texas history at that time. Olmos also shepherded the project as a producer and brought director Robert M. Young aboard, whose documentary background helped him shape the film into a quiet, low-key, naturalistic drama that explores themes of race, culture, and prejudice. Bruce McGill plays a reporter accompanying the manhunt whose questions guide the flashback structure, which gives the story both an investigative quality and a Rashomon sensibility due to different perspectives on key events. It's a provocative film with superb performances from a cast of excellent character actors, including James Gammon, Brion James, and Barry Corbin. And Young enhances the cultural divide by withholding subtitles in the Spanish language sections, which puts English-speaking audiences in the same position as the Texan characters. Newly remastered in 2K, extras include new interviews with Olmos and historian Chon A. Noriego, a 2016 reunion panel discussion with cast and crew, and an essay by film scholar Charles Ramírez Berg. A film that has not only aged well but feels even more timely today, this is highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)