In the movie Bless Me Ultima, Carl Franklin does a great job using extreme long shots and diegetic sound. During the harvest and when Antonio spends time with Ultima on the llano, Franklin uses extreme long shots. By filming these scenes like this the viewer sees all the nature around them. This makes the viewer connect with the land just as they do in the movie. The diegetic sound throughout the movie also creates a great connection with the land. However I do think Franklin get carried away with the sound design and extreme long shots. During Narciso's death the sound of the rain drowns out his confession to Antonio. I think hearing Narciso confess himself to Antonio would have enhanced the movie and made it more similar to the book. Drowning out Narciso and Antonios important conversation with the rain defeats Antonios internal struggle of becoming a priest. In the movie Antonio is not as torn between becoming a priest or a vaquero. I think this was a mistake because of how vital this is in the book. Antonios internal struggle between pleasing his mother or pleasing his father is why he is conflicted most of his time as a child. Franklin also uses an extreme long shot when Narciso is dying. Using an extreme long shot takes away from the connection between Antonio and Narciso and the personal effect of Narciso's death. Overall I think Franklin did a good job portraying the connection between man and nature but he could have done a better job with Antonio's internal struggle.
Review of Bless Me, Ultima
