Description: In BLUE, a Mexican bandit goes on a raid into the U.S. When he meets a beautiful woman and falls in love, he decides to leave his life of crime and settle down with her. Eventually his father and his gang come back for him, and he finds himself torn between his love for the woman and his loyalty to his father and his fellow gang members.
Blue (1968) "To escape his past, he had to destroy it"
This is the story of Azul. An American that was raised as a Mexican bandit by Ortega, a vivacious Mexican gang lord. Azul looks different than the other Mexican bandits due to his blonde hair and his blue eyes. Due to his distinct eye color, the name given to him when he was young was Azul (Spanish for Blue). Sadly, Azul's heritage continually fails to be overlooked by the other bandits, especially by the natural sons of the gang lord. Ortega is beautifully portrayed with pride and love by Ricardo Montalban, who seeks above all the unity of his people as a flag against the lost grounds and dreams that were taken away from them during the war between the Americans and the Mexicans.
Ortega demonstrates that long-built anger against the neighboring Americans. In purpose of an iconic deed, on the day that America celebrates its Independence day, Ortega and his bandits cross the river that separates the old world of Mexico from the new world of America and pays a visit to a village.
With the help of parallel story telling, we see Ortega and his bandits as they terrorize the festive farmers by robbing them and killing some of them due to their resistance, as well as we see Azul along with one of Ortega's sons breaking in the empty homes of the villagers. During Azul's private moments while going through a farmer's home we can clearly see his inner battle of the two worlds, the two worlds that he is very much a part of.
Karl Malden is portraying Doc Morton, the village's doctor who is eloquently balancing between his natural sense of protecting his land and his nurturing sense for the human spirit. Joanna Pettet is portraying Joanne Morton, the young and wild in spirit daughter of the village's doctor. Stathis Giallelis, previously known from Elia Kazan's "America - America" is portraying Manuel, the youngest son of Ortega with a vividly savage outlook on life.
In a pivotal moment, Manuel is surprisingly killed by Azul when the latter one can not stand as a witness of a rape and murder scene. Joanna, the doctor's daughter is saved from certain death when Azul, with no sign of hesitation guns down Manuel, his brother by rite. When the bandits are gathering to flea the village, Azul falls wounded by the villager's gunshots and further fails to save the life of Carlos, who ironically happens to be yet another natural son of Ortega.
Ortega is mourning for the loss of his sons, even though Xavier, Ortega's third natural son confronts his father's loss by accusing Azul as the killer of Manuel.
As the bandits cross the river back to Mexico, Azul is taken in and taken care of by the doctor and his daughter Azul is steadily recovering from his gun wound and all the while he becomes the subject of questioning by his savors. Azul's silent mode is enigmatic and intriguing, but this very silence is broken against the charming and disarming female ways of the Joanna.
We understand that the afore-mentioned battle of the two worlds is gaining solid ground against Azul's heartfelt effort to live free of prejudice and free of hate. Azul becomes Blue, in terms of name and in terms of his sad soul. The doctor managed to nurse Blue's wound, while more important, the doctor's daughter managed to nurse Blue's tormented soul. Blue accepts his new life and gratefully tries to blend with the people of the village. Still, prejudice is present, and Azul is painfully accepting it just as he was accepting it from his Mexican people.
Blue is further confronted by the restless Ortega who is also facing his own inner battle. Ortega is ecstatically thanking the doctor and the daughter for saving Azul's life. Ortega is brutally cursing the doctor and the daughter for instigating Blue's life. Blue can not tolerate Ortega's rage against his new family and he comes a moment too close to kill him with his bear hands. When his enraged eyes cross with the puzzled and sad eyes of the Joanne, Blue lets go of Ortega. Ortega storms out with a promise of vengeance and Blue eventually storms out of his new home to the wilderness and to his solitude.
While the villagers are arguing in terms of how to cope with the Mexican bandits, Blue returns and organizes them. As Blue commands the villagers to prepare the ground for surprise attack against the Mexicans, the villagers witness the rough, yet so necessary side of him, that is demonstrated upon them through his leadership skills.
Joanna realizes that Blue has deep inside him a hard side that has necessarily been infiltrated to him in order to cope with the harsh life that he has lead across the river, and she sadly feels that she is losing the man that she loves.
When Ortega arrives with his cavalry, he is surprised by a devastating attack that is fatal to the majority of his men. Blue jumps inside the river to confront his surrogate father. Ortega who proudly and genuinely praises him for his battle tactics points his gun against Blue and subsequently is falling down by his surrogate son's gunfire. In the arms of Blue, Ortega asks him to be taken across the Mexican side of the river so that he may die in his beloved country. Blue respects his wish and tenderly passes him through only to see Ortega's wounded brother pointing a gun to him. Blue is shot fatally in the river where Joanna jumps in to reach him and hold him with love, while all the villagers close in with angst to be near their dying savor. Blue is closing his eyes leaving his last breath inside the river, the river like him stands between the old world and the new world.
The film was directed by Silvio Narizzano while as a second unit director Yakima Canutt provides his excellent work at the stunt sequences. The film direction is landscape and character orientated at the same time, vividly interpretative, and provides various sequences that beautifully let us in the inner world of the people involved.
For example, Blue's brutal and sadistic character is introduced in the beginning of the film when he kisses in the mouth one of his victims and then shoots him down. Take notice of the silent scenes of Blue, where the blue of eyes hold the very same empty loneliness of the wide blue of the sky. The scenes between Blue and Joanna are heartfelt and genuine, especially the one where Joanna runs to the field to greet Blue's effort to stay with her and her father.
The two worlds of Blue are shown throughout the movie, and masterfully depicted by the way that Blue makes love to Joanna on the floor as a man with animal instincts in matters of lust concerning the woman that he loves.
Furthermore, take notice of the similarities between this film and the film "Witness" (1985). The scene where Blue is shown uncomfortably to suit himself in his new American gentleman's outfit is a ring-a-bell for the scene in "Witness" where Harrison Ford is wearing for the first time the Amish clothes. The storylines of both movies on one level tackle the issue of a man being torn between two worlds.
The lyrical music of the film was scored by Manos Hadjidakis. Personally, the particular musical score rates as the best ever written in the film industry and the soundtrack to this day attests to this statement. Musical pieces (like "Nocturne", "Blue's Solitude") are warm and tender, while the last piece will haunt your mind and your heart with nostalgia through the years to come.
Blue is unmistakably portrayed by Terence Stamp.
TERENCE STAMP IS AMAZING!-ClydeisHungry@aol.com Terence Stamp delivers a beautiful performance in this film. This is one western that is worth watching. It doesn't have the "typical" theme most western's have. This is more of a human story. The story of a young man who was raised by people not of his kind, growing up this is all he knows until he comes face to face with the harsh realities of what the rest of the world has to offer. Showing how sometimes the human spirit isn't always the greatest assest. This film was well written and well directed if you haven't seen "Blue" check it out I guarantee you will like it!
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