Canoa

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Canoa Photos

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Movie Info

This 1976 Mexican feature is based on a reportedly real incident which took place in 1968. When a group of hikers happen upon a village governed by a paranoid and fanatical priest, they are labelled as communists and desecrators and are lynched by the bespelled townspeople. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Rating:

NR
Genre:

Art House & International, Drama
Directed By:

Felipe Cazals
Written By:

Tomás Pérez Turrent
In Theaters:

Dec 31, 1975 wide
On Disc/Streaming:

Jul 29, 2003
Runtime:

115 minutes

Cast

Ernesto Gomez Cruz

Arturo Alegro

Jaime Garza

Carlos Chávez

Gerardo Vigil

Rodrigo Puebla

Malena Doria

Enrique Lucero

Salvador Sanchez

Guillermo Gil

Manuel Ojeda

Roberto Sosa

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Critic Reviews for Canoa

All Critics (5) | Fresh (4) | Rotten (1)

Canoa is a film with a horrific message that is still timely and important.

Sep 29, 2019 | Full Review…

David Harris
Spectrum Culture
...stripped from all this historical and cultural context, many modern viewers unfamiliar with Mexican cinema might find the film ponderous, uneven, and even disengaging.

Dec 27, 2018 | Rating: B- | Full Review…

Nathanael Hood
Audiences Everywhere
[T]he portrait of a community leader manipulating the ignorant and illiterate to blindly follow him through fear, xenophobia, and religion is relevant to any time and place ...

Apr 21, 2017 | Full Review…

Sean Axmaker
Stream on Demand
a particularly sharp, unrelenting portrait of how groups and individuals-anywhere at any time-can be demonized to the point of inciting physical violence

Apr 3, 2017 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

James Kendrick
Q Network Film Desk
A deeply disturbing study of mass hysteria, a lasting cultural document of "a shameful memory"...and a culturally specific but widely relevant snapshot of that late-'60s moment of student rebellion being met by violent institutional crackdowns. [Blu-ray]

Mar 27, 2017 | Rating: 3.5/4 | Full Review…

Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

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Audience Reviews for Canoa

Mar 28, 2013

"Mass manipulation" is a tough word, but in some cases it correctly applies. During the presidency of Luis Echeverría (1970-1976), a significantly major cinematographic freedom was given to the industry and censorship regarding sensitive sociopolitical questionings came to a stop. Felipe Cazals, Jorge Fons and Jaime Humberto Hermosillo were the men that raised from the ashes and spoke out loud. The role of Cazals was daring. In what may be his (first?, second?) best film, government is confronted through eyes of hypocrisy and, indeed, manipulation. It is a brutal reflection about the weight of the social and political power of the Church in society, and about the strong use of religious and anticommunist ideologies in times of harshness and inner turmoil and confusion. But Cazals is intelligent. he never forgot about the rural heart. That is why he introduces us the town of San Miguel de Canoa in a faithful documentary style, and shows us his internal conflicts as well. Judging acts is very difficult when we do not consider what is behind the curtain, AND WE <b>ALMOST NEVER</b> SEE WHAT IS BEHIND THE CURTAIN!!! 95/100

Edgar C Super Reviewer
Sep 28, 2007

Religous intolerance and mass control is alive and well in Mexico. Despise this being based on something that happen in the 60's it could happen in these days, this country has barely changed at all.

Tsubaki S Super Reviewer