Guns for San Sebastian

Eighteenth-century Mexico. The rebel Leon Alastray takes shelter in a church while being hunted and escapes with the old priest who protects him. The priest dies on the road. Arriving at the village of San Sebastián in his robe, Alastray is taken for a priest. The village is raided constantly and nobody can resist. He keeps postponing the truth and teaches them to defend themselves instead. The subject is not religion but a lie that works. The villagers expect a miracle and the man teaches them to build a dam and use weapons; the film's question is whether faith actually requires a priest. The form is large in scale: crowded defence sequences shot in real Mexican locations, mountain villages, dust. Ennio Morricone's score is the most cited element. The production was a French, Italian and Mexican co-production. Charles Bronson plays the indigenous leader, in the period when he was beginning to come forward in European productions; within a few years, in the same circles, he became an international star. Henri Verneuil directs. Anthony Quinn plays Alastray. Who it is for: viewers who like sixties European co-production westerns and Morricone scores. Who it is not for: anyone who will find the handling of indigenous characters troubling; the film carries the view of its period and distributes its roles accordingly.