Movie not conquest

If you were expecting a film filled with epic battles between the Aztecs and Spanish conquistadors, Aztecs going about their daily habitats and some large-scale ceremonial scenes, prepare to be disappointed in "The Other Conquest."

The producers, Carrasco & Domingo Films from Mexico, chose to focus on different aspects of the Spanish conquest of the Aztecs other than the more interesting stuff.

The main premise of the film is the aftermath of the Spanish invasion after emperor Moctezuma is murdered.

"The Other Conquest's" title refers to another conquest that the Spaniards made: the spiritual and religious conquest of the Aztecs. This basically translates into a dull overproduced film.

The cinematography is the best part of this film, filling the screen with color, contrasts and occasionally some moving shots that add life to an otherwise slow moving film.

The film's main focus is Topiltzin, one of the last remaining sons of Moctezuma. Damian Delgado, who portrays Topiltzin, does indeed look very indigenous. Unfortunately he looks more like a Mayan Indian than an Aztec. Most of the extras in the film also look more Mayan than Aztec.

That is one of the main problems with this film. It is just too unrealistic.

Another example of unrealism is the Spanish soldiers who speak with Mexican accents! Fortunately, the producers chose a real Spaniard to play Hernando Cortes.

Even though the film does have a lot of drawbacks, there are some interesting moments that improve the film.   Considering everything, it is still refreshing to see a film from Latin America on the big screen in your local theater.