Yesterday, journalists were given an opportunity to talk with several individuals involved in the production of the film For Greater Glory, which opens in theaters in the U.S. on June 1. They sat down with director Dean Wright, and actors Andy Garcia (General Enrique Gorostieta), Eduardo Verastegui (Anacleto Gonzalez Flores), and Mauricio Kuri (Jose Luis Sanchez del Rio).
Andy Garcia
The film opened in Mexico last week. How has it been received?
Andy Garcia: It broke all records in Mexico as the second highest grossing film since Titanic. It’s a universal, international story for the world. It’s a story that needs to be told.
I received a letter from the grand daughter of General Gorostieta. She said that she was emotional in watching the film and that it honored him. She felt his endeavors had never received any credit. The story was really taboo in Mexico. No one talked about it. The Gorostieta name and his journey in the Cristero War fell under the rug along with the rest of the story. She felt that finally her grandfather’s efforts were brought to light, and sent an excerpt of a letter that General Gorostieta had sent to his wife. In it he said, “I know that we’ve spent all this time apart and that because of the cause I’m fighting, I might never see you again. That is a possibility, but I know that the Gorostieta name will always be preserved for our children.
You’ve been in many films. Do you have a favorite?
Andy Garcia: Personally, The Lost City was a favorite in that it deals with my culture and that of many Cubans. Being in The Untouchables was very commercial for me, and being in The Godfather Part III was a dream for me. The original Godfather was the final stroke for why I wanted to be in movies. I said, “That’s it. I want to be in that movie.” Destiny put me in a version of that movie. Talk about having faith.
Eduardo Verastegui
What drew you to this project?
Eduardo Verastegui: While looking for my next project someone asked me if I had ever thought of doing a movie on the Cristero War. I felt embarrassed that I didn’t know about this time from my own country. I called other friends and they didn’t know about it either. The more I learned about this period of time, the more passionate I became. More than 200,000 people died. I learned that the reason we weren’t taught this in public schools is because it was an embarrassment to the government. We’re not proud of this. It’s a wound that we’ve buried. I felt we should bring this wound out, learn from it, and show some of the heroes of Mexico who gave their lives for what they believed.
When I read the script I fell in love with the character of Anacleto. He’s known as the Mexican Gandhi. He was a true inspiration for me. He gave his life and his last words were “Viva Cristo Rey.” Doing research on who he was, I was able to receive far more from him than what I gave to his character.
How did working on this film affect you?
Eduardo Verastegui: When I’m exposed to art that is designed to heal, I get healed. This film is like the Schindler’s List of Mexico. Working on it helps me to do the right things.
My hope is that when people see it they will leave entertained, with a spark in their heart, and not afraid to be heroes. I hope they will leave inspired to do the right thing, that they will love more, and that they’ll fight for something bigger than themselves and ready to die to self, and to learn from the mistakes of the past so that we will not repeat them.
Dean Wright
In the film, the martyrdom of Jose Sanchez del Rio is quite evocative of the death of Christ. Were the similarities purposeful?
Dean Wright: Movies are a great tool for communicating story and inspiring people with individual feats of courage and sacrifice. They can move an audience. The film focuses on the themes of faith and sacrifice. Throughout the film there is visual imagery and visual motifs that are repeated. The character of Jose was brutalized in a way that we only hint at in the film. It was much worse. Shooting it the way we did was absolutely his way of following the path that Christ took, because that’s what he knew he needed to do. It was deliberate.
There’s a clear link in the film between the death of Father Christopher and that of Jose. Tell me about the choice you made in shooting both deaths from above.
Dean Wright: It was a God’s-eye view perhaps.
Shooting the death of Jose was the most brutal day of the shoot for me. When we got to that day, there was a light rain as we started to shoot. This light rain continued all day, and it provided the imagery we were trying to convey – of Golgotha. It was very somber and as we shot it, I felt like I was killing myself. After we shot it everyone was quiet. I slept for two hours and then sat on my balcony and didn’t know what to say.
When I recounted to Peter O’Toole this and why I didn’t understand why I was feeling this way, he told the story of Alexandre Dumas crying after he had written the death of Aremis in "The Three Musketeers." These characters live in your heart and then you kill them.
Mauricio Kuri
How did you prepare for the role of Blessed Jose Sanchez del Rio?
Mauricio Kuri: I studied this character and read a Spanish biography of him. The book told me a lot of his story. Before each scene I listened to a lot of dramatic music, like Cold Play.
Jose’s role is amazing. He was 14. I’m 14. He wanted to join the Cristero army to fight for God, for his freedom, and his liberty. That made me think if I would have done the same thing. At 14 he wanted to give his life for Christ.
There was also the opportunity to go to Mass every day on the set.
What did it mean to play this role?
Mauricio Kuri: It represented a big challenge and responsibility because he is a martyr who gave his life for Christ and he’s Mexican. Why don’t people know about him? His life is beautiful. This is the real Jose. I wear a medal of him. This little chain is from the place where was killed. The world needs to know about him and his story. We know about the persecution of the Nazis, the Chinese, and in Cuba, but we don’t know about this. The movie is a good opportunity for people to learn about this.
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This is a LONG, ANTICIPATED movie that I wish my parents were alive to watch. My father, along with his family, were deported from the US in the early 1930’s under the ‘Repatration Act’. They were deported to a country where you had to renounce your Catholicism (Mexico)......my granfather did not renounce. They were not allowed to hold jobs, property, etc. In addition, both my grandmothers (who were neighbors and like sisters) were both arrested and taken to the city jail like animals, strapped to the back of a horse wagon. Hearing what the town priest had to endure, as he travelled from home to home, town to town, cerro to cerro, administering to the needs of his flock, always brings tears to my eyes and gives me the passion to pass on the faith to my children. The town priest, refused to leave: Padre Nacho (though I don’t know his last name) is up for cause. It had been recounted by men who were to assassinate him that Padre Nacho would disappear as the shooters looked to get a better aim, to only find that Padre Nacho was now too far away. These are one of the many stories told of heroes of the time. We need to wake up and see what is going on in our country and realize that this, too, is happening here in the U.S.
God bless.
PS…Patrick Madrid has a CD on the Cristero War
I agree with Eduardo that Catholics never learn about this part of history. My first newspaper article was to be about this war, favoring the Villistas who were experiencing a revival of their movement in Mexico in the nineties. Thank Heaven a friend’s mom from Cuba, set me straight about their treatment of Catholics. Thank you Eduardo for bringing this part of our history alive to educate us and our children about the valiant Cristeros.
I agree with Lucia, this film may “wake up” so many in this country so they see that this is happening right here. This forgotten history needs to come to light in order to respect the memory of these valiant heros. I can’t wait to see the movie. At last, we will have a cinematic experience that is uplifting and inspiring—showing the best in hamanity.
Judy my husband’s father was a Cristero and told me what it was like to live in Mexico under President Plutarco Elias Called and it is ludicrous to even try to compare President Obama to Calles. Calles was a horrible despot who was responsible for murdering thousands of Cristeros and religious. His anti clerical government prohibited nuns and priests to be seen in public in their religious habits and clerical garb, closed churches and forbade Masses and other religious celebrations. I doubt very much that President Obama would do these horrible things. You’ve been listening to those right nuts for way took long.
CeCi. Quite to the contrary, I am not listening to right wing nuts as you call them, I am taking my cues and getting my information from reputable Catholic sources. Obama may never go as far as you describe, and I would never make such a bizarre statement, but clearly the administration is creating formidable obsticles to the religious freedom of speech we are granted as citizens by the constitution. Haven’t you heard of HHS or the USCCB’s response? Priests for Life, for one, is in the throes of suing the administration. If Catholic institutions are compelled to comply, this mandate will force hefty fines on wonderful Catholic agencies like Catholic Charities. They could not survive. It is not the drastic scenarios you describe, but it is, nonetheless, devastating and the beginning of a bad trend, and it is alarming.
Saw the uncut version of For Greater Glory tonight. The film with Andy Garcia, Peter O’toole and Eva Longoria is about when Mexico tried to secularize its culture in the 1920s and strip the Catholic Church of its religious freedom. This film comes at an interesting time in an election year where one could draw loose parallels with today’s battle over religious freedoms between churches and the Obama Administration. This movie shows when government goes crazy to strip freedoms and what people do to preserve those freedoms. It just opened as the second largest popular film ever in Mexico. It is expected to open in the U.S. on 700 screens June 1. From what I saw this is a good film and I recommend seeing it.
I can’t wait to see this film. I wish someone would make a film about Padre Pro and more of the Mexican Martyrs and also include in the film how America turned her back because the people being killed were Catholic.
To Lucia: Which state in Mexico are you talking about? Because if it’s the same Padre Nacho I know of…let me know…
Hey folks! Check out what PBS posted online about the Mexican dictator Calles. They’ve made him out to be a hero and Catholics in the Cristero war as “rebels.” Rebels? They were freedom fighters!
http://www.pbs.org/itvs/storm-that-swept-mexico/the-revolution/faces-revolution/plutarco-elias-calles/
Boycott PBS!
La historia de Mexico ha sido deformada y contada por grupos minoritarios que se hicieron del poder y han construido héroes falsos . Esta película es muy interesante porque presenta una pagina valiosa de la verdadera historia de México y muestra a mexicanos que si eran verdaderos representantes del sentir popular y de los valores mas profundos del alma mexicana. El principal objetivo de la película no es presentar un documental sobre los Cristeros sino sacar a la luz un episodio heroico que pocos conocen pues la historia oficial trato de ocultarlo por muchos años , e invitar a las personas a saber mas de el. Gracias al sacrificio de esos héroes México goza en el presente de libertades no solo religiosas sino de educación y muchas otras mas
I am so proud of knowing there are so many people of good will out there eager to support and appreciate goodness, truth, faith, liberty , and all those values that we all cherish deep in our hearts. Sometimes we need films like For the Greater Glory of God to realize that we all need to defend and preserve our faith. We need to pay attention to the trascendental,that way it is possible to believe in LIberty and Truth, Peace and Justice. This is a time of great consolation for me. God Bless us all. I am praying for you everyday!!! Viva Cristo Rey!!!
Supe el movimiento de “Los Cristeros” por medio de mis abuelos, ya hace bastante tiempo, nunca se ha hablado abiertamente de ello, pero a partir de que Juan Pablo II beatifico` a varios de ellos el interes por saber la verdad se generalizo, yo pertenezco y naci en una zona del estado de Jalisco en donde sucedieron varias persecuciones por medio de los llamados “federales” el pueblo se llama Ejutla, en la plaza central aun esta` un arbol frutal , un mango, esta cercado para evitar que los feligreses corten sus ramas, pues se dice que son milagrosas, en ese arbol fueron ahorcados varios cristeros, estando a la sombra de una de sus ramas, sientes el poder de tu religion, revives el sentimiento catolico, la libertad de tu fe y experimentas una sensacion increible de describir, imaginate, estando a la sombra de un ser vivo que fue` testigo de esta persecucion injusta…...
Know this: once I discovered that Mexico alone has listed 53 Saints and Blesseds—most of whom come from the Cristobal Wars, I had to paint them.
The United States has only 9 Saints covering our 500 year history; Mexico has over 50 Saints and Blessed covering the last 100 years.
There is a Catholic Church, in Sun Valley,NV, north of Reno, named St.Peter Canisius that serves a mostly Latino population. I am not Latino but I wanted to teach there. The priest in that parish told me to go away, to find another Church. He said I was ‘troublemaker’. I asked if I could paint a mural of all the Saints of Mexico, on an old raggedy shed, on Church property. He allowed me one wall only. I finished the faces of those involved in the Christobal Wars, as well as, Our Lady of Guadalupe and Juan Diego. There are other Saints of Mexico, not from the Christobal Wars, but most are from that era.
Before I could completely finish the mural, the priest saw to it that I would be gone. He said I did not speak Spanish, that I encouraged gangs, that I was running from the mafia and much more. I do not know why he was this way, but he was. However, the mural still stands. If anyone wishes to see a picture of it, I can email it to you as an attachment. Everyone who is of Mexican descent should know its heroes. georgia hedrick georgia-hedrick@att.net or alma_corazon12@yahoo.com Ask, and I will send you the picture of the mural. Free. As I am afraid to step foot on that parish territory, I do not know how it looks today.
I am so happy this movie is coming out!
La película es muy interesante; Me parece que Eduardo Verástegui debía haber sido más nombrado, porque él hizo un papel protagónico a la altura de Andi García y merece mejor reconocimiento por su trabajo y su gran esfuerzo en esta producción.
que bueno que lleguen al publico con estas peliculas con grandes mensajes
llenos de valores que tocan el corazon sobretodo que pueden cambiar a favor de la vida de muchisimas personas.
muchas gracias y sigan con este trabajo de dar a conocer los grandes valores que a la mayoria de personas que no lee lo suficiente como aprender lo bueno que nos ofrece Dios en esta vida.
sea ahora el cine un gran elemento que aporta nuevas formas de evangelizacion.
que Dios los bendiga.
Leonor Arnilllas
There are things which simply knowing about help us become better persons. The Cristero War is not one of them. I know of a person who went around saying he was “shocked” to find out about this episode and undertook a crusade to publicize it and then proceeded to act like a perfect devil. Then he wonders why things don’t always go his way. Yes, sometimes we can become overwhelmed by our circumstances and yes, these circumstances threaten to overwhelm our faith. But, that is never an excuse to start doing things which we know are immoral and then complain about how things don’t seem to go our way. This is a movie which is meant to encourage people to somehow become better human beings not simply by proclaiming things with their mouths, but by putting their words into action. Thankfully, Catholics do not face government firing squads in this country, and hopefully we never will. But, we are being martyred, which means called upon to be witnesses. We are martyred because we live in a society which puts pleasure and wealth above all things and the Lord calls us to walk proudly down the street knowing those are NOT our priorities despite the fact that the rest of the world,, however respectable it may be, tells us they should be. We are martyrs because we are called upon to defend our conviction that sexual activity is sacred and circumscribed to certain conditions when those around us encroach on our space with everything from suggestive attire to obscene gestures and vague physical threats. Don’t merely watch the movie please…Take it to heart and put its lessons into action..
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