AMIGO by John Sayles at the Gene Siskel Film Center
A new film by legendary independent filmmaker John Sayles, AMIGO, will be presented for a weeklong run at the Gene Siskel Film Center. AMIGO depicts the impact of the Philippine American War from the point of view of a village mayor, played by noted Filipino performer Joel Torre. The film also stars Ronnie Lazaro (Manila S,ooper (The Bourne Identity).
From the official site:
AMIGO, the 17th feature film from Academy Award-nominated writer-director John Sayles, stars legendary Filipino actor Joel Torre as Rafael, a village mayor caught in the murderous crossfire of the Philippine-American War.
When U.S. troops occupy his village, Rafael comes under pressure from a tough-as-nails officer (Chris Cooper) to help the Americans in their hunt for Filipino guerilla fighters. But Rafael’s brother (Ronnie Lazaro) is the head of the local guerillas, and considers anyone who cooperates with the Americans to be a traitor. Rafael quickly finds himself forced to make the impossible, potentially deadly decisions faced by ordinary civilians in an occupied country.
A powerful drama of friendship, betrayal, romance and heartbreaking violence, AMIGO is a page torn from the untold history of the Philippines, and a mirror of today’s unresolvable conflicts.
John Sayles has a long history of taking on profound historical events and thought provoking social issues, in independent classics including EIGHT MEN OUT, LONE STAR, and MATEWAN.
AMIGO plays at the Siskel Center from Friday, September 16 through Thursday, September 23:
Fri, Sep 16th at 6:00pm
Sat, Sep 17th at 3:00pm
Sat, Sep 17th at 7:45pm
Sun, Sep 18th at 4:45pm
Mon, Sep 19th at 8:00pm
Tue, Sep 20th at 6:00pm
Wed, Sep 21st at 8:00pm
Thu, Sep 22nd at 6:00pm
For more information, please visit:
http://www.siskelfilmcenter.org/amigo
http://www3.amigomovie.com/
