User reviews

Based on a true story, this movie shows the great differences within Mexico rural and urban areas. Modernity could not be accepted in the rural areas, basically because the ignorant peasants were dominated by certain groups, including, like in this movie, the Catholic Church. Let's remember that the students massacres that had happened in 1968 and 1972 were still fresh in the minds of many Mexicans. Those students had been accused by the Government,of being Comunists. In this particular movie 5 young students of the Capital's State University decide to climb a volcano. Because of bad weather they have to stay overnight in a little village besides the Volcano. The local Priest assumes that they are Communists coming to agitate in his territory and accuses them with the people of trying to close the Church. The mob tries to lynch them. The beauty of this film resides in the fact that fanaticism is shown at its maximum level so as to make us think where this can lead us in our lives. This is true of the corrupt authorities, the Priest that uses Religion to maintain his privileges, the village people that mix Religion and fanaticism, etc. It is a great sociological study of the consequences of these extreme attitudes.

This film is part of the beginning of the New Mexican Cinema, based in a true story and made like an example of the uncertain time in Mexico after 1968 and how can be influenced a entire town against a group of people whom their only sin was; be a student.

This movie is based in a real life story in which a group of students and university workers go on holiday and finish in a small town (Canoa) in the Mexican countryside. They look for a place to spend the night without being aware of what his happening around them until it is too late.

The political climate is volatile: Mexico, 1968, leftist students have been protesting all around the country and the local priest is a megalomaniac afraid to loose his little power and completely paranoid about communism.

What follows is the mob taking over under the directions of the local priest, with funest consequences for the unfortunate students.

Very explicit violence, Disturbing scenes.

Highly recommended.

For a knowledgeable viewer, there is no doubt that "Canoa" has become a major classic film due to various artistic as well as political reasons. It was one of the first films in the history of Mexican cinema to show that even history especially historical events can be given a fictional form. While watching "Canoa" one can easily understand how Christian religion especially catholic church was unjustly misused for one's personal gains.The use of a local character to narrate important facts and story works very well for "Canoa". A viewer is able to get detailed visual information of events which were responsible for horrible lynching of some youngsters by an irate mob. Authenticity seems to be this film's hallmark as viewers are likely to feel as if tragic events had taken place in their midst. For this reason, Felipe Cazals chose to depict important events through a time prism. Lastly, there are moments when a human body can withstand any amount of blows. One such moment was shown in Canoa when a doctor is utterly surprised to find a victim of violence in good shape. Director Felipe Cazals has always made films which have cast a poignant look at negative aspects of Mexican nation. His films need to be discovered by viewers if they wish to learn more about Mexican society. Hence, for this reason any effort to appreciate Canoa can be called a good start.

This is a very hard hitting examination of mob violence and, in my opinion, the best study of a corrupt small town ever put on celluloid. In the perceptive, emotionally wrenching hands of director Felipe Cazals the poor, prejudiced, ignorant, hostile, theocratic village of Canoa makes the town in "Fury", as well as the desert hamlet of Black Rock, look like gated communities in comparison. Particularly in the film's second half, as a Carmelite sister blares anti communist propaganda into a loudspeaker and a very ugly crowd starts to form and an awareness among the five victims of their danger grows, the viewer begins to feel as scared and helpless as they. And the orgy of murder and torture that results is as realistic a look at the effects of crowd hysteria as I have seen on the screen.

After stating the above, any criticisms I may have would be on the captious side. Still, I would have liked the first half to move at a more rapid clip with fewer scenes of the five university workers hanging out together and joking. One such scene would have made the point that these young people are innocents being led to the slaughter. Also, I found the talking head/interview device both intrusive and un necessary, especially the last head, a cynical peasant who I'm sure Cazals intended to be an effective counter weight to the unenlightened citizens of Canoa but who comes across, to me at least, as more of a wise ass, know it all. A minus.

PS...To Alicia Malone: Can we please have more great films from Mexico on TCM Imports? I cannot recall when the last one before this was shown.

In 1968, four employees of the University of Puebla decided to go mountain climbing near Puebla, a small, very poor village near the town. A lynch mob attacked them, killing two.

Those are the bare facts behind this movie, which paints a picture of a town dominated by a well-connected priest who incited his parishioners with tales of communist agitators coming to steal their animals, kill him, and raise red-and-black flags and take away G*d. It seems absurd to phrase it that way, but that seems to be what happened. Enrique Lucero portrays the priest and a monster, something that would have been unthinkable in Mexican cinema before then. Director Felipe Cazals offers a sequence of the growing hysteria and eventual violence that is absolutely unnerving, and breaks the fourth wall freely to give the audience background information. As film-making, it's brilliant. As a depiction of what actually happened.....

Reading so much praise to this movie makes me feel that I'm in the late 60's or the early 70's again. Director Cazals has done some good movies, but no master piece at all. So Canoa's not what many of you say it is.

First of all, remember that this picture was produced by Conacine, with money from the Government. It was not censored. Never. And tough it has some brilliant achievements (like Salvador Sanchez' as the narrator), the true is that the Mexican government used some historical events in a very tricky way to present the army as the savior of the remaining students that were not killed by the mob. Of course the catholic priest that appears in the movie is hateful, despite the wonderful job of actor Enrique Lucero. But the movie's big point was to distract people from the social reality that politically speaking was very explosive at that time. So the soldiers make the good ones, when the people was hurt by the recent genocide in Tlaltelolco's ground. And Cazals knew it all the time. Not a bad movie, but you have to consider this, as it is presented as "a part of history", but it has other sides to it.

(1976) Canoa:: A Shameful Memory/ Canoa: memoria de un hecho vergonzoso (In Spanish with English subtitles) DOCU-DRAMA

Depicting an actual event called the "San Miguel Canoa Massacre" but more of an reenactment of the events that led up to that particular mob mentality escalated by a priest, El señor cura (Enrique Lucero). When five students of Ramón Calvario Gutiérrez (Arturo Alegro), Julián González Baez (Roberto Sosa), Roberto Rojano Aguirre (Jaime Garza), Miguel Flores Cruz (Carlos Chávez), and Jesús Carrillo Sánchez (Gerardo Vigil) stopping by the village, San Miguel Canoa after a hiking expedition. Only to confront the villagers accusation of being Communist revolutionaries accused by a radical, right wing extremist priest, to be used as scapegoats after the government's spending on the Summer Olympics that happened in 1968.

The tone is similar to the movie "Reds" in which it dwells on interviews from some of the villagers who were actually there. I just did not appreciate the aftermath regarding the priest, El señor cura himself, who ignited the riots.

This was a hard film to watch .. not because it was a bad movie or something but because the story it was telling .. and what made it even harder is the fact that it was based on a true story .. a great movie that will leave you shocked, angry and vindictive but as a viewer satisfied.

I watched Canoa when it first came out to the movie theaters; I was around 15 and I had lived the 1968's student movement. Tlatelolco massacre was fresh in our minds and hearts and while not referring directly to it, Canoa catches that feeling with honesty and courage. This two qualities are always present in Cazal's work, but this film is his master piece.

We have also tho see Cazal's films in the context of the Mexican cinema of the moment, along with the work of Arturo Ripstein, Jaime Humberto Hermosillo, Jorge Fons and many other talented filmmakers. In Mexico their work tend to be overlooked mostly for political reasons.

Mario de la Garza

This Film takes no concessions, it is certainly one of the most powerful films in cinematographic language, I've ever seen.

Felipe Cazals has done an extraordinary job, previously to Canoa, he did a great documentary about the feelings of the mexicans regarding the foreigners but especially those who were involved in the Mexican life in one way or another.

Cazals maybe tried to input that same kind of documentary-style to Canoa which makes the film more special since it doesn't follow the traditional standards on editing and screenplay.

Highly recommended film that is not for those of weak guts, it has some violent scenes but it don't fall onto morbid stuff.

Also, I highly recommend Felipe Cazals' films (except those of Rigo Tovar ones). it is certainly one of the greatest mexican filmmakers ever.

I live in in Mexico and this movie was censored long time.It is a great movie and represents the reality of 1968 in mexico.