I have really loved some of the recent movies by Clint Eastwood. They have a heart and some tenderness about human relationships that was not so characteristic of his more macho cowboy movies of old. For example ‘Trouble with the Curve’ is a great movie starring him and Amy Adams, especially if you love baseball as I do. ‘Cry Macho’ had me at hello, and on the verge of tears several times. It is the story of a broken down cowboy, who both broke his back busting broncos and in the rodeo, and then lost his wife and child in a car wreck, and after those disasters took to drinking. It’s a familiar tale of the response to tragedy in that respect. You have a choice about how to respond to tragedy. Will you let it make you bitter, or make you better? Clint Eastwood is now some 91 years of age, but he still has a lot of gas in the tank when it comes to acting and directing. The basic story line of this two hour long film is described in the trades as follows: “Clint Eastwood’s uplifting and poignant drama is called “Cry Macho.” The film stars Eastwood as Mike Milo, a one-time rodeo star and washed-up horse breeder who, in 1979, takes a job from an ex-boss to bring the man’s young son home from Mexico. Forced to take the backroads on their way to Texas, the unlikely pair faces an unexpectedly challenging journey, during which the world-weary horseman finds unexpected connections and his own sense of redemption.”
This is not a shoot em up bang bang movie. This is one part rescuing a trouble young man, one part horse whisperer, one part ‘at long last romance’ and more. The term macho meaning tough, having grit etc. as Mike Milo says is “over-rated” that is unless you are a rooster named Macho, who saves the day a couple of times. He is Rafael’s pet, and trained for cock fighting. But Rafael has just as much fight in himself, having been abandoned by his father and abused by those who work for his mother. He needs some rescuing and some wisdom about life. This is a good movie for families with older children to see as there are real life lessons to be learned. There is precious little bad language, and no killing or sex either. Shoot, we even see Mike sleeping in a church, and joining in in a family prayer because he reckons he believes in God. If you know a bit of Spanish your experience of the movie will even be enhanced as most of the movie is in Mexico and involves some Spanish without subtitles, and occasional translation by Rafael. There is nothing not to like about this film. It goes by fast and leaves you thinking. If you are looking for an uplifting tale this one fills the bill.
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