6/10

Director Diego Luna presents us with a look at the Mexican revolutionary who fought for the rights of his people by building the National Farm Workers Association. Cesar Chavez was always someone who was soft spoken and non violent with the issues that plagued his people. It is because of that i think Michael Pena is both good and bad for the role. He definitely gives us the caring side of Chavez with workers and his family, but we don’t get to see much of what makes the character tick by peaking behind the curtain. Luna plays this film very safe and only includes the most important of situations by the title character. This is the kind of film in which you use 2 full hours to tell the story of his past, present and future. The film only gives us a brief rundown of the family Chavez came from, and the fact that they lost their land very early in his life. I really wish they could’ve used an extra 15 minutes to run down that history and show some of the struggles that his parents went through. The reason why i was against Pena is because the performance he gives is nothing special. It all seems like a very safe film that was played close to the script, and i like to see some breakout when an actor plays a historical character. I absolutely loved Forrest Whitaker In The Last King of Scotland as Idi Amin. It’s good because he makes the character his own, something Pena never does. The rest of the cast is kind of forgettable as well. America Ferrera is good as Helen Febela, Cesar’s wife, but she isn’t given enough talking time to make it memorable. Rosario Dawson, Wes Bentley and John Malkovich also all suffer from the same problem. I did however enjoy the cut scenes showing the black and white footage of the real Cesar Chavez. It was great to see what kind of demeanor he always presented himself in when around the people who worshiped him like a god. It’s kind of funny to see him praised by so many with the problems he faced with his own family at home. He and his wife fought for so many and this forced the kids at home to grow up a lot quicker. The relationship with his oldest son is one of the most time consuming that the film concentrates on, and that is a good thing. By the end of the film, his son has moved out and has no relationship with his father. I like to see side plots like that because it’s something different compared to the original reason why i wanted to see the film. Chavez passed on in 1993, but i think this film shows the kind of legacy that he passed on in so many of the businesses today. After watching this film, i can say that i think the higher ups of Wal Mart could take 100 minutes out of their schedule by watching a film about workers rights. Cesar Chavez is recommended for the historical buffs, but if you chose to skip it, you won’t miss much. I would much rather you watch an actual documentary on Chavez. I recommend Chicano! it’s a PBS documentary that is currently on Youtube.