The Other Conquest

By Bob Polunsky
Movie Critic

"The Other Conquest" rivals "Apocalypto" with its blood, gore and condemnation of native Indians in Mexico before Spain conquered it. But there is a dramatic difference between the two films.

The villain is Spanish Conquistador Hernando Cortes. He massacred the Aztecs at the Great Temple of Tenoch, covering the area that would later be Mexico's capital with bloodied bodies partially buried in sand. It was his way of convincing them that their religious practice of human sacrifice is uncivilized. What he doesn't realize is that his massacre is just as uncivilized. To his way of thinking, they deserve it because they haven't accepted Christianity.

Aztec Emperor Moctezuma's illegitimate son, Topiltzin, is the only Aztec native to survive. He had hidden under a stack of rotting bodies during the massacre, crawling out afterwards to see his mother's crumpled corpse nearby.

Meanwhile, Friar Diego arrives from Spain to convert the Aztecs. He tries to convince the Aztecs that the Christian way of life is better, using peaceful means and obvious compassion instead of violence.

Cortes captures Topiltzin, whips him with heavy chains and pours vinegar on his wounds. But he does not get any results so he orders Friar Diego to take over Topiltzin's conversion.
The priest is close to tears when he sees Topiltzin and tries to coax him into accepting Christianity. He points to a statue of the Virgin Mary as a symbol of peace and forgiveness, and Topiltzin is enraptured. He sees the statue as a monument to humanity. Conversion is not as important as possession of the statue is.

Moctezuma's daughter is Cortes' concubine and sees how Cortes tortures her half-brother. She vows revenge by starting a new dynasty of Aztecs with him so their race doesn't disappear.
The fast-moving film shows Topiltzin stealing the statue of the Virgin Mary because he sees a love for humanity in her face.

"The Other Conquest" refers to Cortes' determination to conquer the Aztec soul, not just their land.  But the subtle inference is that they could not be forced to convert, even when they lost their land. In many ways, Topiltzin and his half-sister converted the Spaniards by showing them the value of love for all human beings.

The film was originally shown at various film festivals in the late 1990s and won several awards from those exhibitions.  It was briefly released in Los Angeles in 2000 and now is seeing a limited re-release in throughout Texas, New Mexico and Nevada, including San Antonio, for Cinco de Mayo.
It is richly textured with strong performances from a Mexican cast in actual historical locations graphically filmed with as much blood and violence as "Apocalypto." It also has a hero, and "Apocalypto" didn't.

The movie ends without a satisfying solution, just hope for the future, and history documents the fact that Spain lost control of Mexico while descendants of the Aztecs, Mayans, Jewish victims of the Inquisition and the Spanish invaders themselves survived, inter-married and established a new country in spite of the violence of their ancestors' time, not because of it.

You may look away from the screen during the violence, but the basic message of the overall film is quite beautiful.

Studio rating: R for violence and a scene of graphic sex
Bob says: "Tough to watch but worth it"
2 1/2 Stars