Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Wow! What a bizarre film! Unfortunately the few funny moments there were were quite overshadowed by it's completely weird and random vibe throughout.

I am only giving this movie a 1 for the great cast, though I can't imagine what any of them were thinking. This movie was horrible

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

This film, set in colonial times, tells the tale of Macario, a destitute woodcutter who stumbles onto a magical source of healing power. He has a series of beautifully photographed adventures curing the sicknesses of the incurable in his tiny farming hamlet and the nearby town. As Macario's fame spreads, his wealth increases but his uncanny powers attract the wrong kind of attention, leading to a tragic denouement.The powerless suffering of the poor, the boundless greed of the rich and of the poor alike, the eternal desire to cheat death and squeeze a few more drops out of this life -- these timeless themes are all operative here to good effect. This is not a subtle movie, and it is rather dated in its characterizations and its moralizing. Even so, the acting is competent and the plot engaging. There are some stunning scenes that combine with the first-rate cinematography to make the film lovely to look at.If this rarely screened movie comes your way, I recommend that you take the opportunity to view it.

This was Mexico's first contender for the Best Foreign Language Film Oscar (which was also up for the Palme D'Or at Cannes): to be honest, I only became aware of it myself recently while looking for links to "Mexi-Horror" outings on "You Tube" (it is indeed a fantasy but not a scary one, and far from goofy)! In fact, I acquired a copy of this one online that included slightly oversized burnt-in English subtitles. Its viewing followed hard on the heels of THE TRUTH and KAPO', which were the French and Italian entries in the same Academy Awards category – with the only nominee now remaining unavailable (and, consequently, unwatched) being the Yugoslavian competitor THE NINTH CIRCLE. The winner emerged Sweden's THE VIRGIN SPRING – which, like the movie under review, was a fascinating parable; incidentally, both films again found themselves in the running at Cannes, with the Ingmar Bergman title getting a "Special Mention" but the top prize being awarded to Federico Fellini's LA DOLCE VITA. MACARIO (nothing to do with a lowbrow Italian comic that goes by this very name!) deals with a poor Mexican wood-cutter who, rather selfishly, wishes that he could feed on a turkey but without sharing it with anyone, not even his plentiful family!; to be fair to him, he does go on a hunger strike in protest at the unfairness of the class system! His wife (played by tragic actress Pina Pellicer, best-known for her role in Marlon Brando's ONE-EYED JACKS {1961}) obliges by stealing the bird in question from the wealthy mansion for which she washes the laundry, hiding it even from her husband and then surprising him when he wakes up to go to work the next morning. As he lies down to feast on the turkey, he receives three visits from different men all requesting that they partake of the man's lunch: these obviously symbolize the Devil (appearing in the guise of a bandit), God (a shepherd) and Death (a beggar). Weighing his options, Macario accepts the latter's presence at his 'table' and, in gratitude, is given healing powers…but only to those Death himself indicates!Soon, the protagonist has his hands full with patients (beginning with his own son, who fell down a well) – to the consternation of the local doctor and undertaker – and, growing increasingly respectable, relocates to a big house in the town centre. Eventually, the Viceroy (played by "Euro-Cult" regular Eduardo Fajardo) comes to call in order to save the life of his own offspring – but Death appears at the head of the bed in his case, the sign that he is not to subsist. Macario tries to persuade him to show mercy (apart from turning the bed around a number of times so as to appear that Death wants the child to be spared after all) – for his own sake at least, since the Inquisition has also turned up determined to expose him as a charlatan or a sorcerer and have the hero burned at the stake! He is, however, given one last chance and asked to point out who from among a cell housing various convicts, and with the public hangman thrown in as a lark, is to make it out alive: when Macario states that all will survive (including one who had been sentenced to death) but the executioner himself, the prosecutors believe they finally got him trapped…but an attendant immediately reports that the man in question has indeed expired from a heart attack and the condemned man has been suddenly reprieved! The downbeat and irony-tinged conclusion, then, takes us back to the all-important turkey-eating deep in the forest…The narrative's inherent simplicity is countered throughout by the renowned Gabriel Figueroa's expert lighting – perhaps seen to best advantage towards the end when Death invites Macario to his cave where the whole of humanity is represented by burning candles a' la Fritz Lang's DESTINY (1921); interestingly, he would recapture the "Day of the Dead" celebrations – seen here in the film's opening stages – for John Huston's UNDER THE VOLCANO some 24 years later! For the record, the script was based on a novel by the mysterious B. Traven (author of the source material that formed the basis of Huston's own 1948 Oscar-winning classic THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE – coincidentally, too, Traven was born on the very day I watched this)! Besides, the supporting cast includes a number of faces familiar from films Luis Bunuel made during his Mexican tenure. As for director Gavaldon, I ought to mention that I also own but have yet to check out his THE LITTLEST OUTLAW (1955), co- starring Maltese character actor Joseph Calleia. One last thing: judging by the "Critic Reviews" MACARIO gets on the IMDb, it does seem to have a definite cult following – which makes its obscurity to this viewer somewhat baffling; in retrospect, the end result indeed constitutes a minor genre classic worthy of greater exposure.

Macario is a simple peasant, struggling to make ends meet. He gathers firewood in the nearby woods, to sell at market to help feed his large family. However no matter how hard he works, he still finds his children are starving and this hits him hard. With the Day of the Dead festival approaching, he finds it difficult to take that wealthy families are able to make such large offerings of food to their deceased relatives, while he and his family can barely get the bones of a good meal together. He goes on a hunger strike so that his children can have his share, this naturally worries his wife. His wife presents him with a large Turkey for him to eat all by himself, a craving he had confided in her some days previous, he gladly takes it and sets off into the forest to eat it before he starts his working day. Suddenly a man appears all dressed in black, the man beckons him to share the turkey, but despite the man offering him immense wealth in return, Macario refuses. Macario is then confronted by a bearded man dressed in white, again he is asked to share his feast, but Macario refuses yet again. Hungry and more frustrated Macario goes deeper into the forest, where once more he is asked for a share or the turkey, this time by a starving peasant, this time Macario agrees, the man is delighted and offers Macario a rare and special gift in return, he fills his flask with water from a spring and tells him that but one drop from the flask will cure any illness, with one proviso, that the third man will appear at the foot of the bed of the ailing if they are to be cured, but if he appears at the head of the bed, then they must die. Macario gets a reputation as a healer after saving his own sons life and after helping a local richman to save his dying wife, they go into business together and Macario is soon just as wealthy, as people from all walks of life arriving in his town looking for a cure make donations in thanks. Not everyone is happy however, the towns doctor and coffin maker find business hard to come by and its not long before Macario is reported to the Inquisition, they have him arrested and against the odds he must prove he is not a heretic or a sorcerer, his life depends on it. After two years of gathering dust on a shelf, i decided it was finally time to watch this highly rated Mexican film. A tale of poor peasants struggling to get by is not the most attractive of premises to me, so i was quite surprised at how the film immediately struck a chord. From the opening credits where peasants carry skulls in a Day of the Dead procession, i was hooked, as visually the film is a real treat. Gavaldon is a multi award winning director and it shows, the film is beautifully structured, the story is unfolded with impeccable pace as both visuals and characters are given equal importance, a striking dream sequence with skeletal marionettes and the grand hall of the Inquisition being particularly memorable. There's a wealth of characters that are all interesting to watch, their plights are intriguing to follow as they struggle with differing lessons in life. The film is full of symbolism and metaphor, some of which even Macario is aware of, in particular concerning the three strangers he meets. The First being a metaphor for Evil, Greed and represented by a Satan figure, The second representing Good, Generosity and represented by a God figure, the third one would seem to be an Angel of Death, The Grim Reaper, Starvation and represented by the lost soul of a peasant. Like in a Christmas Carol, All three come back to haunt Macario, giving him guidance or leading him astray and guiding him to his ultimate fate. Macario is a wonderfully captivating film, that has plenty of great horror imagery, it has a great fantasy element too and also delivers some good wholesome life lessons, both comic and tragic and is pretty much intriguing on every level, i loved it. It also has a fantastic twist at the end.

I am ashamed to admit that I didn't find about "Macario" until 2000 when it gained some attention because "Amores Perros" was about to get nominated for Best Foreign Picture at the Academy Awards. "Macario" went to the spot light because it was Mèxico's first movie to get nominated for such an award. So I took away my prejudgments towards classic movies and I tracked down a "Macario" DVD.And I am extremely glad that this movie has worldwide recognition because it truly is one of Mexico's best movies of all time (if not the best)."Macario" is more than a fairy tale with macabre overtones such as displaying The Devil, or The Death. No, "Macario" has a social and humanitarian message PLUS it displays in a beautiful way Mexican culture towards the dead and how we (Mexicans) feel about Death. There's also a strong criticism against authorities and noble titles in the 18th century. This movie is rich in all the sense of the word.Meet Macario, a Mexican campesino or land worker who isn't completely happy with his life because he desires what rich people have; specifically, eating turkey. Macario works hard for his family but it isn't enough for establishing a life full of comfort.One good day, Macario's wife gets a turkey for him; a turkey that cost her a lot of effort and work. Macario is thrilled and delighted with it and decides to eat it all by himself, not sharing it. He walks too far until he gets tired and takes a rest in the woods. On his eating turkey journey Macario meets Satan, The Death, and God. The three iconic figures want a bite of that turkey but Macario won't share it. But Death makes a deal with him... a deal that will give Macario all the power, money, fame, respect and all the turkey goodies he always wished. But in exchange for what? True, he will be the savior for many souls but will also risk his own soul.I don't want to give much away from this wonderful piece of cinema. It is a tender tale with dark overtones and Horror references but to be honest, this is more of a fantasy story displaying interesting facts of Mexican culture.Ignacio Lòpez Tarso delivers an amazing performance as Macario. That's all I can say about him. He's the master. Also Pilar Pellicer delivers a great performance. Too bad that she committed suicide at such a young age.The direction is flawless and sometimes looks way ahead of it's time. The same with the fantastic art direction and cinematography. The final scene where Macario is in front of thousands of candles it's a visually stunning and rich piece of art direction and cinematography. A memorable movie designed to charm everybody.Please watch "Macario" if you haven't. You won't find a better Mexican movie than this. It has everything to become a favorite.To be honest, I haven't seen it in 3 or 4 years but some scenes just keep repeating in my memory. This is a memorable movie in all the sense of the word. This movie makes me proud of being Mexican.