La Pastorela: The Shepherd's Tale (1991)
Originally produced for PBS's Great Performances Series, La Pastorela is a musical retelling of the shepherds' journey to Bethlehem to see the Christ Child. We see the tale through the eyes of a modern young girl, the oldest child in a large rural Tex-Mex family. During a surrealistic dream, which brings to mind "The Wizard of Oz," the young chicana makes a fantastical journey with the shepherds and along the way; witnesses the triumph of God's Angels over Satan's diablo's. Full of drama, comedy, fantasy and wonderful music; this is a rare film the whole family can enjoy together.
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This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.
I wanted to like it more than I actually did... But much of the humor totally escaped me and I walked out only mildly impressed.
It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.
An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.
I first saw "La Pastorela" (A Shepard's Play) on PBS's Great Performance, and recorded it to show to my family. It was originally performed by a Non-Profit Northern California group called El Teatro Campesino (The Farmer's Theater). (Note: I purchased a Legal VHS tape from them several years ago). It's a Wizard-of-Oz type adventure/musical; a demonstration of the Mexican-American or Chicano culture, as this movie is replete with a mixture of English and Spanish dialog also known as Tex-Mex or Spanglish. If you're not Mexican-American or familiar with the culture, you may not be entertained by "La Pastorela." My family and I enjoy watching this movie every Christmas as a tradition along with "It's A Wonderful Life," "White Christmas" and "Home Alone." If you watch it for the first time, you may be surprised to see (beside Linda Rhonstadt), some now well-known faces such as Comedians Paul Rodriguez and Don Novello (Father Guido Sarducci); Musicians Freddy Fender and Falco Jimenez and Actor Lupe Ontiveros (The murderous Yolanda in the movie "Selena"). La Pastorela is both funny and moving, and has a great message of hope and good triumph over evil.