John Sayles heads to TIFF this year with a new film under his arm, “Amigo,” his first since 2007’s “Honeydripper.”
As previously reported, the film is a fictionalized account of the Philippines-American War at the turn of the century. The film apparently grew out of his years-in-the-making, 1000 page novel “Some Time In The Sun” that unfortunately didn’t find a publisher. While the book, which ironically started out as a screenplay, didn’t manage to get printed, it did help raise finances for the film.
The film, starring Joel Torre, Garret Dillahunt , Chris Cooper, DJ Qualls, Rio Locsin , Ronnie Lazaro, Bembol Roco, will undoubtedly draw parallels to current conflicts in the Middle East. Certainly, the trailer takes pains to underline those thematic similarities. Synopsis, trailer and more photos after the jump: [TIFF/Rope Of Silicon]
The film revolves around the occupation by a squad of U.S. soldiers of a small, rural village. Headed by a respected elder, whom the Yankees refer to as “Amigo,” the villagers are forced to deal with this foreign presence as rules are set, curfews introduced and small attempts at democracy initiated. But the most significant tension in the film lies in the village’s relationship with a rebel group leading the resistance to the occupation. Amigo’s brother is the rebel leader, and his son runs off to join them, so he constantly finds himself torn between balancing what is right for the village and what this means to his family.