The Other Conquest (1999)

82% of critics liked it
(17 reviews)
53% of users liked it
(1,780 ratings)

In this historical drama from Mexico, Damian Delgado plays Topilzin, a writer and the illegitimate son of Montezuma, who finds himself at odds with his nation's new leadership after Tenocchititlan's rule is put down by the Spanish Army in 1520. Topilzin refuses to adopt the new state-imposed… More In this historical drama from Mexico, Damian Delgado plays Topilzin, a writer and the illegitimate son of Montezuma, who finds himself at odds with his nation's new leadership after Tenocchititlan's rule is put down by the Spanish Army in 1520. Topilzin refuses to adopt the new state-imposed religion and, after narrowly avoiding arrest following an incident in which he throws a rock at a friar, he's turned over to the police by his brother, and arrested in the presence of Hernando Cortes (Inaki Aierra) and his lover, Tecuichpo (Elpidia Carrillo), the daughter of Montezuma. Thanks to the pleas of Cortes and Tecuichpo, Topilzin's life is spared, and instead he is flogged in public by Capt. Quijano (Honorato Magaloni). After his punishment and an ensuing spiritual epiphany, Topilzin gives up his career as an author to become a monk, and he joins an order led by Fray Diego (Jose Carlos Rodriguez), the friar he once attacked. La Otra Conquista proved to be a big box-office success in Mexico, enjoying the biggest opening weekend of any Mexican film in history on its home turf. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: R, 1 hr. 45 min.
Directed By: Salvador Carrasco
Genres: Art House & International, Drama

In Theaters: May 4, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Oct 16, 2007
Studio: Union Station Media

Critic Reviews

Kevin Thomas, Los Angeles Times
In his bravura feature debut, [Salvador] Carrasco has created nothing less than a dazzling vision of the birth of a uniquely Mexican religion born of the searing fusion of Catholic and Aztec deities.
Richard Nilsen, Arizona Republic
[Director] Carrasco uses shadows and mirrors to create effects he has no actual budget for. The lack of money shows on-screen but is cleverly hidden by the director's genius for making us care about his story so much that we forgive all else.
Eric Rosenberg, Hollywood.com
An incendiary mix of politics, religion, war, violence and personal turbulence -- not an easy film, but a complicated work of art.
David Elliott, San Diego Union-Tribune
A grand mural of trauma, with superb colors, a great escape scene and fertile myth-probing about how masters and vassals together forged the hot core of Mexican Catholicism.
Ron Stringer, L.A. Weekly
An arresting, balletic performance by Damian Delgado powers this vividly imagined, elegantly paced mystery play beyond period exoticism to a bona fide illumination of social, and sacred, history.
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide
Caught between efforts to redress Eurocentric accounts of the conquest of Mexico and a tendency to slide into old-movie melodramatics, Carrasco's film is often gorgeous, never less than entertaining and occasionally moving.
Phil Villarreal, Arizona Daily Star
Carrasco delivers his message with all the grace of Cortés.
Larry Ratliff, San Antonio Express-News
This is a film that dares to look at faith from a fresh perspective. The fact that the film is back in theaters at all is a near-miracle.
Marjorie Baumgarten, Austin Chronicle
A marvelous vision: at once spectacle, history lesson, and potent psychological drama.
Donald Munro, Fresno Bee
A dizzying intellectual experience that dares to tread where few films have in terms of religion, war and the curious contradictions that ensue when one group of humans conquers another.
Rich Cline, Shadows on the Wall
The drama doesn't work, and the film ends up feeling more like a history museum display.
Luisa F. Ribeiro, Boxoffice Magazine
An impressive, beautifully visual film.