The Milagro Beanfield War
1988 · Movie · R · 117 min · ★ 6.6 · 64% critics
In a tiny New Mexico town, a broken irrigation valve sparks a clash over water and land. As mostly Latino farmers push back, powerful developers and local officials press ahead with plans to turn the area into a golf resort, forcing the community to choose between survival and selling out.
Based on The Milagro Beanfield War
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Details
- Years
- 1988
- Release date
- 1988-03-18
- Language
- English
- Rated
- R
- Runtime
- 117 min
- Critic score
- 64/100
- TMDB rating
- 6.6/10 (95 votes)
About
You’ll likely enjoy this if you like small-town underdog stories with gentle humor, local politics, and a strong sense of place, similar in spirit to Mumford; Not for you if you need fast pacing and constant action.
Pros: heartfelt community story; humor with warmth; memorable music | Cons: slow pacing at times; uneven serious-whimsical tone; crowded cast of characters
Themes
- based on novel or book
- new mexico
- hispanoamerican
- hispanic
- farmer
- mexican american
- gun shooting
- farming community
- guardian angel
- land developer
- water conflict
- beans
- +5 more
Awards & recognition
- Academy Award — Best Original Score · 1989
- Academy Award — Best Original Score · 1989 · nominated
Cast & crew
Rubén Blades
as Sheriff Bernabe Montoya
Richard Bradford
as Ladd Devine
Sonia Braga
as Ruby Archuleta
Julie Carmen
as Nancy Mondragon
James Gammon
as Horsethief Shorty
Melanie Griffith
as Flossie Devine
John Heard
as Charlie Bloom
Carlos Riquelme
as Marshal Amarante Cordova
Daniel Stern
as Herbie Platt
Chick Vennera
as Joe Mondragon
Directed by Robert Redford