Sam Peckinpah claims that of all his films, the only one that he truly felt was the movie he intended to make was, “Bring me the head of Alfredo Garcia”. That is quite a statement from a man who created genre-setting controversial films such as, “The Wild Bunch”, and “Straw Dogs”. The movie he is most proud of is the same film that was almost universally derided by both the audience and film critics when it premiered. That may have to do with the movie being a nihilistic and hard-to-stomach depiction of humanity at its lowest and dirtiest. However, when looked at closely, there seems to be something akin to being autobiographical within the character Benny, and Peckinpah himself.
The movie opens somewhere in Mexico, along a beautiful peaceful river where a young pregnant girl is relaxing beside the water, until her father’s henchmen take her away as she has been summoned by her cartel boss, father. He wants to know who got her pregnant, and after a bit of light torture, is told that the guilty party is Alfredo Garcia, for whom, it seemed, was a trusted and loved employee of said father. He goes about and sets a $1,000,000 reward for the person or persons who bring to him Garcia’s bodyless head. Hence, the film’s title. Some high-class hired killers sweep through Mexico looking for Garcia. Their search brings them to a small rough village bar, and it’s resident Vietnam War vet piano player, Bennie. Bennie, you see once knew Alfredo Garcia, through their mutual love interest, call-girl Elita. By the 2nd part of the film, Bennie ends up riding in a raw beat-up car with the rotting fly-infested head of Garcia lying on the passenger seat. How the head got there is original to some and disappointing to others. He, on the other hand, is hell-bent on bringing the head to the Cartel, even though he never really realizes the extent of the ransom he will receive. Along the way, many people are killed in Peckinpah’s famous slow-motion style.
The movie boasts an excellent and unconventional cast. Robert Webber and Gig Young are cast as two brutal hired killers. While Webber had previously acted as a killer or soldier, he never had such a dark persona before in any of his previous films. Young, previously to this role, mostly played mild-mannered, gentle characters. Here they use their against-type personalities to invest an almost loving couple feel to their roles. Their characters are another embarrassing example of Hollywood depicting gay people as deranged killers. While their gay relationship with each other is never really spelled out, it is hinted at in a not to subtle way. Especially in the scene with a salon hooker comes on to Webber’s character, resulting in her getting hit hard by him in his response of disgust. The quirkiness of this casting, however, works quite well, making them not only believable but fascinating within the context of the story.
The role of the love interest, call-girl Elita was cast by the famous Mexican actress Isela Vega. While unknown to American audiences, Vega was an established award-winning star in Mexico. Her performance here is superb, as her Elita is one of those sad losers of life who is just looking for a way out of her misery. Even if that means hatching on to Bennie and his obsession with bringing the rotting head of Garcia to the Cartel boss. Her sad, poignant portrayal is spot on. She is also part of another one of Peckinpah’s controversial rape scenes, where the person being raped seems to be enjoying herself. I believe Peckinpah added the rape scene, which has no relevance to the film’s story, as a way of telling everyone what he meant by the controversial rape scene found in his hit movie, “Straw Dogs”.
For the role of Bennie, Peckinpah cast the great character actor Warren Oats. As Bennie, Oats is an alcoholic, unclean artist (he plays the piano). He is always drinking, rarely bathes and wears the same sunglasses that Peckinpah himself loved to wear. His depiction of him looks very similar to Peckinpah himself. When Peckinpah boasts that this is his only real personal film, I believe he was referring to the autobiographical depiction of the movie’s main character. Peckinpah succeeded in getting one of his best performances from Oats. Bennie is constantly battling with himself and, as a war vet, is no stranger to violence and danger. He is also a man hungry for love and his feelings for Elita go beyond the physical. Oats moves through these emotions superbly, making his Bennie somewhat likable while at the same time disgusting. I also felt that Bennie’s obsession with taking the severed head, mirrors in some way Peckinpah’s obsession in making this film without any major studio support.
This is a Peckinpah movie and, as is the case with many of his films, it is full of bloody violence. Many people are killed along the way of Bennie’s macabre journey with a severed rotting head. The violence is once again shown in Peckinpah’s slow motion style through various perspectives. The pain of the deaths is made real by the slow-motion depictions. This is not a movie for the fainthearted.
Visually, the movie has some remarkable wide shots of the Mexican landscape while keeping the colors shaded to maximize the gritty dark mood of the entire film. This visual style works to enhance the feeling of isolation and abandonment felt by Bennie throughout the movie. “Bring me the Head of Alfredo Garcia” is not a conventional movie in any sense. It is an offbeat film that features a weird and repugnant story line. That is also one of the reasons that it is a fascinating and interesting watch.
1001 Movies before you die 