Bless Me, Ultima at the Rialto theater in Santa Rosa, Ca

Set in 1940s rural New Mexico, a boy struggles to understand good and evil, guided by an elderly curandera (healer) and the way of life in his village.

The film was adapted from the novel "Bless Me, Ultima" by acclaimed author Rudolfo Anaya. Screenplay written and film directed by Carl Franklin.

Set in the 1940s during WWII, it is about a boy named Antonio Marez (Tony) growing up in a rural village of New Mexico. His father is Gabriel Marez, a vaquero (cowboy) from the isolated ranches of the high desert plains of Las Pasturas. He dreams of passing this life on to his children or packing it all up and moving his family to California. Antonio's mother, is Maria Luna, a religious woman who expresses her wishes for Tony to become a priest. She descends from farmers in the nearby village of Puerto de Luna (Port of the Moon) nestled along the Pecos river valley.

Life changes when Antonio's parents bring an elderly woman Ultima to live with them. She is a curandera (healer) and midwife, relying on herbs and spirituality to heal the local people and cast away witches' spells. Antonio is conflicted by the wishes of his loved ones to determine his destiny and struggles to understand good and evil. He witnesses murder, drunkenness and debauchery, the effects of World War II that have come to his village. His maturity grows when he defends Ultima from condemnations of being a witch and from experiences in school and catechism.

Ultima teaches Antonio how spirit is present in everything around us. Through her guidance and his astuteness, he taps into the divine essence of life. She emphasizes to him how the smallest of good overpowers over any evil, and she teaches respectful and harmonious living. His father Gabriel shares with him that what most people call evil is just something they do not understand, and that we need more sympathy towards others before we judge so quickly.

http://blessmeultima.com