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Cabeza de Vaca

Play trailer Poster for Cabeza de Vaca R Released Apr 17, 1992 1h 45m Biography Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 4 Reviews 76% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
In this film based on a true story, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (Juan Diego) sets out in 1528 with dreams of becoming a great Spanish conquistador, only to end up shipwrecked off the coast of Florida. A grueling eight-year trek follows, taking him across the Gulf of Mexico, through Texas to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, he is captured by various Native American tribes, and rises from oppressed slave to mystical shaman and passionate ally of the very people he had once sought to conquer.

Critics Reviews

View All (4) Critics Reviews
Rita Kempley Washington Post Alvar's bizarre enlightenment makes for a good yarn, even if it isn't clearly or grippingly told by the writer-director, whose background is in making documentaries. What Echevarria does best is create a living diorama... Nov 30, 2022 Full Review Vincent Canby New York Times "Cabeza de Vaca" is a small, generalized evocation of an epic subject. Nov 30, 2022 Full Review Erick Estrada Cinegarage Gets close to a period of Mexican history that hasn't been explored in quantity or quality as it should... a fundamental and necessary film for Mexican cinema. [Full review in Spanish] Nov 30, 2022 Full Review Kelly Vance East Bay Express Actor Juan Diego falls into every ditch in Texas, moos at the sky, and gets bitten by angry critters. By the time the pic ends, we feel as if we've traveled every step of the way with him. May 5, 2010 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (19) audience reviews
Audience Member Fantastic, almost hallucinatory film on the early conquest of America. Based on the diaries of a Sevillian soldier who claimed to have developed magical healing powers from the local indigenous tribes this film charts his journey from ship treasurer to christ-like figure. If you like Jodorowky and Herzog then this is definitely a must-see. Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Different perspectives is what cinema is made of Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Ãa n'occupait que deux paragraphes dans mon mà (C)moire de Master 2 mais il me paraissait difficile de ne pas aller voir le film sur la catastrophique expà (C)dition de Panfilo de Narvaez, partie d'Espagne en 1527 et qui ne verra que quatre survivants sur les 600 hommes de dà (C)part. Quelque part entre Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes et El Topo, Cabeza de Vaca transforme lune quête initiatique, transformant le conquistador en và (C)ritable shaman. Sans tomber dans les à (C)cueils du catastrophique Blueberry de Jan Kounen, le film peine quand même un peu à retranscrire l'expà (C)rience et se contente hà (C)las d'enchainer les miracles et les scènes catharsiques sans nous laisser toutes les clefs en main. Au fond, de la même manière que lire Jodorowsky nous montre à quel point on manque une grande partie de l'information dans ses films, Cabeza de Vaca, malgrà (C) des qualità (C)s certaines, prouve que les expà (C)riences spirituelles sont hà (C)las difficiles à retranscrire au cinà (C)ma. L'effort mà (C)rite nà (C)anmoins d'être saluà (C) et une certaine fascination ne manque pas de maintenir notre intà (C)rêt tout au long du film. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/18/23 Full Review Audience Member La conquista y exploración española de la costa del Pacífico americano, es un tema que poco o casi nada se ha tocado en el cine. Con Cabeza de Vaca (1991), del realizador mexicano Nicolás Echevarría, se rescata a un personaje clave en la conquista de ese lado de Mesoamérica, Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. La película está basada en una famosa novela escrita por el mismo Cabeza de Vaca, en la que narra sus aventuras por la costa mexicana del Pacífico, en específico, lo que es ahora el estado de Sinaloa. Nunca había visto antes una actuación tan poderosa del actor español Juan Diego. En esta película, coproducción hispano-mexicana-americana-inglesa (TVE tuvo participación en la producción), Juan Diego interpreta a Cabeza de Vaca, en un trabajo desgastante y demandante físicamente. Diego se arrastrará en la arena y el agua, sufrirá las humillaciones de un extraño indígena, que lo ha capturado y convertido en esclavo, y al final, acabará convertido en un ser irreconocible, por obra y magia de un gran trabajo de maquillaje. Llega un punto en que Cabeza de Vaca ya no sabe si sigue siendo un conquistador español, leal a la corona de Carlos I (en realidad, era su tesorero), o un brujo curandero, marcado por las enseñanzas mágicas de las tribus indígenas con las que tiene contacto en su viaje iniciático. Acompañado de un elenco magnífico, en el que se encuentran un joven Daniel Giménez Cacho, Roberto ?Los Olvidados? Cobo y un también joven Roberto Sosa, ?Cabeza de Vaca? se produjo un año antes de la celebración del ?Quinto Centenario del Descubrimiento de América?. Al final, lo que vence a Cabeza de Vaca, como personaje, es ese mundo todavía medieval del que proviene y del cual no puede librarse. Pero, al mismo tiempo, parece que este ?nuevo mundo? es demasiado y acaba absorbido por el. Más en pantallanueve.blogspot.com Rated 4 out of 5 stars 01/16/23 Full Review Audience Member When is this thing going to be re-released on DVD?? Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars 01/15/23 Full Review Audience Member This film chronicles the true story of Cabeza de Vaca, a Spanish explorer circa 1528 who was shipwrecked in Florida and was forced to live among the natives, where he slowly learned to respect their way of life. I?d been reading about this guy lately, and I decided to track down this fairly obscure movie at my library as it?s not available on DVD. It is a fairly gritty production, you can really just feel the suffering in the environment. The production values are competent, but not up to Hollywood standards. The acting is not great, the man playing de Vaca overacts? a lot. Still this is an interesting story, and while the movie isn?t a great work of art, it does what it sets out to do respectably well. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/05/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Cabeza de Vaca

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Cast & Crew

Movie Info

Synopsis In this film based on a true story, Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (Juan Diego) sets out in 1528 with dreams of becoming a great Spanish conquistador, only to end up shipwrecked off the coast of Florida. A grueling eight-year trek follows, taking him across the Gulf of Mexico, through Texas to the Pacific Ocean. Along the way, he is captured by various Native American tribes, and rises from oppressed slave to mystical shaman and passionate ally of the very people he had once sought to conquer.
Director
Nicolás Echevarría
Producer
Rafael Cruz, Julio Solórzano Foppa, Jorge Sánchez
Screenwriter
Nicolás Echevarría, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, Guillermo Sheridan
Production Co
American Playhouse
Rating
R
Genre
Biography
Original Language
Latin
Release Date (Theaters)
Apr 17, 1992, Wide
Box Office (Gross USA)
$6.0K
Runtime
1h 45m