Zoot Suit

Luis Valdez's 1981 American film covers a murder case in 1940s Los Angeles and the street attacks that followed. Henry Reyna and his friends are convicted without sufficient evidence; through the trial the press and the court treat them as guilty from the start. The film is adapted from the director's own stage play and does not abandon the theatrical form. A figure who appears as narrator speaks directly to the audience, the set stays visible, and the line between real events and representation is deliberately left open. Edward James Olmos plays that figure and the role was decisive in his career. The film counts among the first made by a major studio and directed by a Mexican American. Music and dance serve a function inside the narrative. Who it's for: those interested in American stage adaptations and Chicano culture. Who it's not for: viewers expecting a realist courtroom film; the film uses a theatrical language throughout.