Macario (1960)

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Macario (1960) – R. Gavaldón

A fairy tale (possibly from the Brothers Grimm but rewritten by B. Traven of Treasure of the Sierra Madre fame) set in Mexico with poor woodcutter Macario struggling to feed his family and finally vowing not to eat at all until there is enough food so that he can eat a whole turkey himself without sharing.  His sensitive wife steals a turkey from the local rich family and provides it to Macario for lunch.  On his way out to the woods, he is met successively by the Devil, God, and then Death (all looking very human but with enough hints that you know who they are).  Each asks for a bit of the turkey.  Macario rejects the first two and then shares his food with Death who claims not to have eaten for a thousand years.  (The real reason is that Macario thought Death had come for him and he would not have had a chance to eat at all if he didn’t have lunch with the reaper).  As a thank-you, Death gives Macario a flask of water that will heal anyone who is sick, except those who are fated to die on that day.  Death signals this by standing at the head of the bed (can’t be healed) or at the foot of the bed (can be healed) and Macario must be alone in the room with the ill person to see him.  Of course, soon Macario is very rich, receiving money and gifts in exchange for his healing powers.  Eventually this comes to the attention of the Spanish Inquisition (also in power in the New World).  The film was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar (but lost to Bergman’s The Virgin Spring).  There are many beautiful shots and some scary Day of the Dead figurines that invade Macario’s dreams early on.  Director Gavaldón managed to retain the awe and childlike wonder of the fairy tale with a not entirely clear moral – Macario is a nice guy and thus he is saved from torture and being burned at the stake by his friend Death who comes for him first.  But he occasionally seems a bit too greedy…