4.0 out of 5 stars
Grim Mexican revenge western, November 14, 2009
This review is from: En Defensa Propia [VHS] (VHS Tape)
"En Defensa Propia" (which, I believe, translates as "In Self Defense" - my Spanish is rather limited, admittedly) is a grim, violent Mexican revenge western from the late '70s starring Jorge Luke and Mario Almada, respectively playing a revolutionary and a peasant whose family is brutally murdered by the henchmen of rapacious (and distinctly European-looking) landowners.
There are massacres, shootouts, machete fights, catfights (girl-on-girl ass-kicking) and even a gang rape murder (shown only in the aftermath), so there's no shortage of action here. But the story has more to it than mere bloodletting, focusing also on the class conflicts and intrigues that create the tragic circumstances of the film's storyline.
A warning for animal lovers: this film is replete with what are clearly very real horse-falls, some of which appear to have been achieved by actually shooting the animals (one scene where a horse is much-too-convincingly twitching in a death spasm stands out). If you are upset (and rightly so) by this kind of cruelty, then be warned. If you can look past it and maintain your involvement with the story (which, I suppose I should be ashamed to admit, I was able to do)...well, then, enjoy.
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