''For Greater Glory: The True Story of Cristiada'', also known as ''Cristiada'' and as ''Outlaws'', is a 2012 epic historical

war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militias. It is generally characterized by extreme violence, destruction, and mortality, using regular o ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

Young, James
"''Cristiada'' welcomed in Durango"
August 21, 2010, ''Variety'' directed by Dean Wright and written by Michael Love, based on the events of the

Cristero War The Cristero War ( es, Guerra Cristera), also known as the Cristero Rebellion or es, La Cristiada, label=none, italics=no , was a widespread struggle in central and western Mexico from 1 August 1926 to 21 June 1929 in response to the implementa ...

. It stars

Andy García Andrés Arturo García Menéndez (born April 12, 1956), known professionally as Andy García, is a Cuban-born American actor, director and musician. He first rose to prominence acting in Brian De Palma's ''The Untouchables'' (1987) alongside ...

Eva Longoria Eva Jacqueline Longoria Bastón ( Longoria; March 15, 1975) is an American actress, producer, and director. After a number of guest roles on several television series, she was recognized for her portrayal of Isabella Braña on the CBS daytim ...

Oscar Isaac Óscar Isaac Hernández Estrada (born March 9, 1979) is a Guatemalan-born American actor. Known for his versatility, he has been credited with breaking stereotypes about Latino characters in Hollywood. He was named the best actor of his gene ...

Rubén Blades Rubén Blades Bellido de Luna (born July 16, 1948), known professionally as Rubén Blades (, but in Panama and within the family), is a Panamanian musician, singer, composer, actor, activist, and politician, performing musically most often in th ...

, Peter O'Toole (in his last film appearance released in his lifetime), and

Bruce Greenwood Stuart Bruce Greenwood (born August 12, 1956) is a Canadian actor and producer. He is known for his role as the American president John F. Kennedy in '' Thirteen Days,'' for which he won the Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actor – Motion ...

. The film is the directorial debut for Wright, a veteran visual effects supervisor on films including ''

The Two Towers ''The Two Towers'' is the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's high fantasy novel ''The Lord of the Rings''. It is preceded by ''The Fellowship of the Ring'' and followed by ''The Return of the King''. Title and publication ''The Lord of the ...

'' (2002) and ''

The Return of the King ''The Return of the King'' is the third and final volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's ''The Lord of the Rings'', following '' The Fellowship of the Ring'' and '' The Two Towers''. It was published in 1955. The story begins in the kingdom of Gondor, ...

'' (2003), and was released on June 1, 2012.

Plot

The film opens with screen titles describing the anti-Catholic provisions of the 1917 Constitution of Mexico. Civil war erupts when newly elected Mexican President

Plutarco Elías Calles Plutarco Elías Calles (25 September 1877 – 19 October 1945) was a general in the Mexican Revolution and a Sonoran politician, serving as President of Mexico from 1924 to 1928. The 1924 Calles presidential campaign was the first populist ...

(

) begins a violent crackdown against the country's Catholic faithful. The film depicts the carnage by showing churches being set on fire, Catholic priests murdered, and countless faithful peasants killed and having their bodies publicly hanged on telegraph poles as a warning to others. The story shifts to Father Christopher ( Peter O’Toole), a Catholic

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

, who is ruthlessly murdered by the ''

Federales ''Federales'' (singular ''Federale'' or, rarely but aligning with Spanish, ''Federal'') is a Spanglish word used in an informal context to denote security forces operating under a federal political system. The term gained widespread usage by E ...

''. A 13-year-old boy, José Luis Sánchez (Mauricio Kuri), witnesses the killing. Driven by love for his Faith and anger against the injustices committed against Fr. Christopher and the Church in Mexico, he joins the rebels, the '' Cristeros'' ("soldiers for Christ") fighting against Calles. Their battle cry is "''¡Viva Cristo Rey!''" ("Long live

Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

the King"). The rebel leader, retired General Enrique Gorostieta (

), an agnostic, takes an interest in young José, who soon becomes his protégé. While fighting against the ''Federales'', José is later captured in a firefight and tortured to force him to renounce his belief in

God In monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator, and principal object of faith. Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Oxford Companion to Philosophy'', Oxford University Press, 1995. God is typically ...

. When he resolutely defends his faith, he is executed. The next year, Gorostieta is killed in a battle at Jalisco after he becomes a Catholic. In 1929, however, agreements were made to restore religious freedoms. Pope

Benedict XVI Pope Benedict XVI ( la, Benedictus XVI; it, Benedetto XVI; german: link=no, Benedikt XVI.; born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger, , on 16 April 1927) is a retired prelate of the Catholic church who served as the head of the Church and the soverei ...

beatified Beatification (from Latin ''beatus'', "blessed" and ''facere'', "to make”) is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a deceased person's entrance into Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in their nam ...

José in 2005, along with 12 other martyrs of the religious persecution.

Cast

as Enrique Gorostieta from official website. *

as Tulita Gorostieta * Mauricio Kuri as

José Sánchez del Río José Luis Sánchez del Río (March 28, 1913 – February 10, 1928) was a Mexican Cristero who was put to death by government officials because he refused to renounce his Catholic faith. His death was seen as a largely political venture on the p ...

* Peter O'Toole as Father Christopher *

as Victoriano "El Catorce" Ramírez *

Santiago Cabrera Santiago Cabrera (; born 5 May 1978) is a Chilean-British actor who has worked mainly in the UK and United States. Cabrera is best known for his roles as the character Isaac Mendez in the television series '' Heroes'', Lancelot in the BBC dra ...

as Father Vega *

Eduardo Verástegui José Eduardo Verástegui Córdoba (; born May 21, 1974) is a Mexican producer and actor. He was part of band Kairo and later a solo music career, before he started appearing in Mexican telenovelas and eventually feature films like ''Chasing Papi ...

Anacleto González Flores Anacleto González Flores (July 13, 1888 – April 1, 1927) was a Mexican Catholic layman and lawyer who was tortured and executed during the persecution of the Catholic Church under Mexican President Plutarco Elías Calles. González was beat ...

as President

Nestor Carbonell Nestor may refer to: * Nestor (mythology), King of Pylos in Greek mythology Arts and entertainment * "Nestor" (''Ulysses'' episode) an episode in James Joyce's novel ''Ulysses'' * Nestor Studios, first-ever motion picture studio in Hollywood, ...

as Mayor Picazo *

Catalina Sandino Moreno Catalina Sandino Moreno (born 19 April 1981) is a Colombian actress. She shared the Silver Bear with Charlize Theron and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her leading role in '' Maria Full of Grace'' (2004). She c ...

as Adriana *

as Ambassador

Dwight Morrow Dwight Whitney Morrow (January 11, 1873October 5, 1931) was an American businessman, diplomat, and politician, best known as the U.S. ambassador who improved U.S.-Mexican relations, mediating the religious conflict in Mexico known as the Cristero ...

Bruce McGill Bruce Travis McGill (born July 11, 1950) is an American actor. He worked with director Michael Mann in the movies '' The Insider'' (1999), ''Ali'' (2001), and '' Collateral'' (2004). McGill's other notable film roles include Daniel Simpson "D-Da ...

as President Calvin Coolidge * Adrian Alonso as Lalo *

Joaquín Garrido Joaquín Garrido (born 17 May 1952) is a Mexican actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, r ...

as Minister Amaro *

Karyme Lozano Karyme Lozano (; born Karyme Lucía Virginia Lozano Carreno on April 3, 1978, in Mexico City, D.F., Mexico) is a Mexican actress. She has appeared on three covers of ''Los 50 Mas Bellos'' of ''People en Español''. She has been nominated and wo ...

as Doña María del Río * Alma Martinez as Señora Vargas * Andrés Montiel as Florentino Vargas *

Roger Cudney Roger Cudney (June 22, 1936 – July 5, 2021) was an American actor, singer, dubbing director, radio and television announcer. Biography Born in Cleveland, Ohio, Cudney was known for starring in numerous Mexican films and telenovelas in which he ...

as Secretary of State

Frank B. Kellogg Frank Billings Kellogg (December 22, 1856December 21, 1937) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served in the U.S. Senate and as U.S. Secretary of State. He co-authored the Kellogg–Briand Pact, for which he was awarded the ...

Production

The film is based on ''The Cristero Rebellion'', the 1976 chronicle of the war written by French historian

Jean Meyer Jean Meyer Barth (born February 8, 1942) is a French-Mexican historian and author, known for his writings on early 20th-century Mexican history. He has published extensively on the Mexican Revolution and Cristero War, the history of Nayarit, and ...

who resides in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. Filming started in May 2010 and shot for 12 weeks. Production took place between 31 May 2010 and 16 August 2010. The film was shot in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital city, capital and primate city, largest city of Mexico, and the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North Amer ...

, Durango,

Zacatecas , image_map = Zacatecas in Mexico (location map scheme).svg , map_caption = State of Zacatecas within Mexico , coordinates = , coor_pinpoint = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type ...

, San Luis Potosí,

Tlaxcala Tlaxcala (; , ; from nah, Tlaxcallān ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Tlaxcala ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Tlaxcala), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 60 municipaliti ...

and Puebla. Including an ecological reserve, Sierra de Órganos National Park in the town of

Sombrerete Sombrerete () is a town and municipality located in the northwest of the Mexican state of Zacatecas, bordering the state of Durango. It was founded in 1555 by Spanish conquistador Juan de Tolosa as a mining center, due to the wealth that the mine ...

. At one point the director recreates a famous photograph of the bodies of executed Cristeros hanging from telephone poles, but they are seen in the film from a moving train.

Release

The film had a robust opening in Mexico taking first place in gross admissions at the box office, and second in total receipts, behind ''Titanic 3D''. As of May 11, 2012, it had grossed $2.2 million.

Reception

The film has received negative reviews, noting its performances and ambition but criticizing the screenplay and presentation of events. As of 2021, it holds a 35% rating on

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

based on 17 critics, and a 20% rating on

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

based on 49 reviews. The latter site states: "It has laudable aspirations, but ''For Greater Glory'' ultimately fails to fulfill its goals due to an overstuffed script, thinly written characters, and an overly simplified dramatization of historical events." Roger Ebert of the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' gave the film two and half stars, and concluded that "it is well-made, yes, but has such pro-Catholic tunnel vision I began to question its view of events." Frank Scheck of ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Hollywood film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade paper, and in 2010 switched to a weekly larg ...

'' criticized the film as being 'melodramatic' and 'overlong', but noted that 'Despite its profusion of violent battle sequences, the film is most effective in its quieter moments, such as the scenes in which Calles warily negotiates with the American ambassador (Bruce Greenwood) who is mainly intent on preserving U.S. oil interests'. Nathan Rabin of ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an American online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was cre ...

'' panned the film and called it, 'an endless, plodding educational tool of unusual bluntness and dull force, a blood-soaked primer on intolerance and religious persecution that would benefit from even the faintest tinge of moral ambiguity or narrative sophistication.' In more positive reviews, Stephen Holden of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' described the film as an "old-fashioned, Hollywood-style epic" and said that it compared favorably to Christian mega-hits of the 1950s such as ''

The Robe ''The Robe'' is a 1942 historical novel about the Crucifixion of Jesus, written by Lloyd C. Douglas. The book was one of the best-selling titles of the 1940s. It entered the ''New York Times'' Best Seller list in October 1942, four weeks later ...

''. He was most satisfied with Dean Wright, referring to his direction as "impressively spacious." The composer

James Horner James Roy Horner (August 14, 1953 – June 22, 2015) was an American composer. He was known for the integration of choral and electronic elements, and for his frequent use of motifs associated with Celtic music. Horner's first film score was in ...

also scored high marks for his score, which Holden found "uplifting without being syrupy" and which set an "inspirational mood." Phil Boatwright of the "Baptist Press" called the film "a compelling, thoughtful homage to religious freedom" and said that it brought back memories of '' El Cid'' and '' A Man for All Seasons''. According to Steven D. Greydanus of Decent Films, ''For Greater Glory'' may help to change the obscurity of the Cristero War in the United States. He observed that the film is "one of the most lavish and ambitious films ever produced in Mexico" and "a sweeping, handsome epic with strong performances, solid production values and magnificent locations across Mexico." However, he found the screenplay overbearing and would have liked to have seen more character development.

Accolades

The movie received the following awards and nominations: At

ALMA Award The American Latino Media Arts Award or ALMA Award, formerly known as Latin Oscars Award, is an award highlighting the best American Latino contributions to music, television, and film. The awards promote fair and accurate portrayals of Latino ...

s 2012, got nominations: *Favorite Movie *Favorite Movie Actor - Andy García *Favorite Movie Actress - Drama/Adventure - Eva Longoria *Favorite Movie Actor - Supporting Role - Oscar Isaac *Favorite Movie Actor - Supporting Role - Rubén Blades At

Ariel Award The Ariel Award ( es, Premio Ariel) is an award that recognizes the best of Mexican cinema. Given annually, since 1946, by the Mexican Academy of Cinematographic Arts and Sciences (AMACC), the award recognizes artistical and technical excel ...

s 2013: Nominated *Silver Ariel Best Art Direction (Mejor Diseño de Arte) *Salvador Parra At Image Awards 2013: Nominated *Image Award Outstanding International Motion Picture At

Movieguide Awards The Movieguide Awards is an annual award ceremony for Christian entertainment held every year in Hollywood and broadcast on the Hallmark Channel around the same time as the Academy Awards. The awards are commonly described as "The Christian Osca ...

2013 Won *Faith and Freedom Award Won *Grace Award - Most Inspiring Performance in Movies - Andy Garcia Nominated *Epiphany Prize - Most Inspiring Movie Nominated *Grace Award - Most Inspiring Performance in Movies Mauricio Kuri

References

Sources

* Ferreira, Cornelia R
''Blessed José Luis Sánchez del Rio: Cristero Boy Martyr''
biography (2006, Canisius Books)

External links

* * *{{Mojo title, forgreaterglory, For Greater Glory Films about Catholic priests 2012 war drama films Films about Catholicism War epic films Drama films based on actual events 2012 films Films scored by James Horner Cultural depictions of Calvin Coolidge Mexican war drama films 2012 directorial debut films 2012 drama films 2010s English-language films 2010s Mexican films English-language Mexican films