Renowned Mexican cinematographer Raul Ramon wrote the screenplay and directs The Mighty Victoria, a tequila western set in the 1930’s when the Mexican Revolution was still fresh and President Lazaro Cardenas nationalized the oil industry. The filmmakers deserve applause for shooting and completing this film in pandemic times, which is surely akin to building a locomotive by hand. The uplifting plot occasionally risks becoming sentimental, but Ramon manages to inject more nuanced tones into the story itself. As in some of the British comedies that portray unemployed workers seeking creative solutions as strippers or musicians, here former miners become the engineers of a locomotive and masters of their own destinies. Steam trains are emblematic of a lost era. The Last Train (Corazon ardiente), a film directed by Uruguayan Diego Arsuaga that focused on railway heroics, emphasized the role of labor union members in repairing a locomotive. The Mighty Victoria also tackles the thorny issues of capitalism versus people’s needs, and it will resonate with contemporary audiences seeking a ray of hope in a world saturated by greedy corporations and the “narco narrations” that populate TV and cinema screens.
Victoria brings a breath of fresh air to these Mexican stereotypes of drug lords and petty criminals. The plot unfolds after a telegram arrives, announcing the tragic fate awaiting a mining village in Jalisco. The local coal mine has been depleted and the train, the villagers’ only connection to the outside world, is to be canceled, condemning the village to poverty and starvation. As the railway barons begin to rip out the tracks, the richness of the film appears in the solidarity and compassion of the few inhabitants left behind, who refuse to migrate and abandon their loved ones. Escaping on the last train out of town are the politicians and the village priest, whose luggage is carried to the station (which is ironically named Esperanza, Hope) by the two remaining nuns. Touches of humor prevail as Ramon alludes to the endemic ills of 1930’s Mexico: Illiteracy, dependency, corruption. The obstacles facing the villagers appear insurmountable, until a child comes up with the answer to their plight: building their own train. Led by the mayor and a young train engineer, they set out to vault the hurdles, until the story reaches its crescendo and tragic finale, rescued in part by the bittersweet victory of the title.
Beloved Mexican actor Damian Alcazar has embodied the evils of corruption in the films of director Luis Estrada, including Herod’s Law (La ley de Herodes) and Hell (El infierno), box office hits that swept up the Ariel Awards, Mexico’s top cinema prize. Inverting his usual role, in The Mighty Victoria the talented Alcazar becomes Don Federico, an idealistic, popular leader who rallies the forlorn desert villagers to overcome the twin disasters of the mine closing and their railway connection to the outside world disappearing. Alcazar is supported by an ensemble cast that reflects the film’s emphasis on collective action, in which ingenuity and determination are able to overturn political decisions that seemed beyond any individual’s control. There’s even a timely nod to environmental solutions, as the villagers turn to tequila biofuel as a coal substitute for the steam train.
Ramon did his own cinematography, featuring a series of beautiful sepia-colored tableaux that capture the desolation of the Jalisco and Durango desert landscapes, as well as moments of affection and camaraderie among the desperate survivors. As in many Latin American stories, there are references to indigenous mysticism and magic that contribute to a miraculous resolution. The sweeping music score, composed by Mexican Fernando Velazquez and performed by the Basque National Orchestra, recalls Ennio Morricone’s emotive music for Sergio Leone’s spaghetti westerns. The Mighty Victoria is structured like a corrido, a Mexican traditional ballad that tells a story, here sung with great feeling by composer Belen Rodriguez.
Director, screenplay, cinematography, production design: Raul Ramon
Cast: Damian Alcazar, Gerardo Onate, Edgar Vivar, Roberto Sosa, Joaquin Cosio, Eduardo Espana, Lorena de la Torre, Luis Felipe Tovar, Said Sandoval
Producers: Raul Ramon, Fabiola Velazquez
Editing: Bernardo Lopez Tinajero
Music: Fernando Velazquez
Sound: Mario Martinez Cobos
Production company: Vertigo (Mexico)
World sales: Raul Ramon, Vertigo Films
Venue: Guadalajara Film Festival (Mezcal Award competition)
In Spanish
117 minutes
