Chino (1975)

Boring and pointless story, the only good thing about the movie is Charles Bronson who seems to be a pretty good rider. The story is forgettable and stupid.

" Valdez, Il Mezzosangue" is in sharp contrast to Bronson's late seventies action-packed movies.There's a pastoral ,almost ecological feel to it;one very violent scene of flogging and that's it.SPOILERS Chino is a half-breed ,who lives on the fringe of white society;the day he tries to integrate well in this group,by marriage to a rich landlord's sister,racism emerges and his dream of a family (in which ,although he seems jealous ,his protégé can find a real home)is short-lived.It looks like a movie-for-the-whole-family but it is not: its conclusion is not what the audience expects :no happy end ,the establishment wins.All that concerns horse -breeding is really excellent: we feel Chino's love for his animals ,particularly in the scene when Bronson takes care of the mare that gives birth;the friendship with his Young protégé ,and the boy's impressive nightmare .Marcel Bozuffi ,a very efficient French actor ("Z")plays a good villain,without overplaying :his face full of hate is enough to show his contempt for Chino.On the other hand ,the love affair between Chino and Catherine (Jill Ireland ,Mrs Bronson)does not convince,being too predictable with a touch of male chauvinism ("Women should not ride horses")Veteran John Sturges,helped by an obscure Italian director,proves he can age gracefully.

Although an Italian/Spanish/French production and shot in Spain, "Chino" (1973) isn't a genuine Spaghetti Western on account of director, John Sturges ("Magnificent Seven") being an American (although he didn't finish the film; Duilio Colett did). More Importantly, "Chino" lacks the typical comic book tone and one-dimensional/amoral protagonists of most Italian Westerns, e.g. "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly." On the contrary, "Chino" is ultra-realistic and features flesh & blood protagonists.THE PLOT: Chino Valdez (Charles Bronson), a half-breed, runs a horse farm in the desert and is usually persecuted when he goes to town. A 15 year-old runaway named Jamie drops by and Chino decides to hire him. Meanwhile, a neighboring rancher is starting to fence-up the wilderness and Chino falls for his beautiful half-sister (Jill Ireland).I stayed away from "Chino" all these years because I was told that it was a slow, lackluster and uneventful Bronson Western. Well, it might be sort of slow, since the story focuses on the characters and their drama, but it's not lackluster or uneventful. I was surprised at how good it is. The theme is the dying of the Old West and everything that went with it. Big time ranchers are moving in and fencing-off the land and Native Americans are becoming extinct across the landscape, except for Reservations. Being a half-breed, Chino seems to stir-up trouble wherever he goes through no fault of his own, which results in a saloon fight here and there. Thankfully, Jamie is too young to be bigoted and they develop a sort of father/son relationship. If you enjoy horses you'll love "Chino." It features the running of a herd in open pasture, cameos of a magnificent stallion, the birthing of a foal and its life with Chino & Jamie, the bareback riding of a group of Natives, Chino's great drive of some horses into town and an unexpected horse mating scene. Fittingly, that last one is the set-up for Chino making the moves on his woman, lol.There's also a fairly long Native American sequence where Chino introduces Jamie to the band of Indians that are basically his family. There's a sleeping-in-the-tepee scene that's reminiscent of a similar scene in "Dances with Wolves," which came out 17 years later. Also, as Chino entertains the idea of hooking-up with a sexy squaw Jamies meets a sweet young thang.Unfortunately the story didn't end the way I would've liked it to end; it left a sour taste. But then I reflected on the movie and accepted it. In view of the film's main theme -- the twilight of the Old West -- I suppose it ended the way it had to. Besides, not every story ends on a "everyone lived happily ever after" note.In any event, "Chino" breaches the ceiling of greatness as a simple, yet compelling drama that takes place in the soon-to-be-gone Old West.The film runs 98 minutes. GRADE: A-

Some of the best films in which Charles Bronson stared in can said to have been the very best. However, there are a couple which are never off the mark. This is one of them. The movie is called " Chino " and in this reviewer's opinion is like a item of wet clothing, hung out to dry. Charles Bronson plays Chino Valdez a native America who has am isolated ranch in the New Mexico plains. One day a teen age lad named Jamie Wagner (Vincent Van Patten) arrives on his ranch looking for work. Reluctantly, Valdez hires him and set about to teach him the horse trade. At nearly the same time Valdex is smitten by an English woman called Catherine (Jill Ireland) who falls for him. Despite the rest of the town clamoring for Chin to stay away, thing on his ranch never do get off the ground as the Catherine's brother is someone who decides Chino is not the right man for his sister. Despite the Bronson presence and the fact that this is a John Sturges film, it lacks the magic of their combined efforts in other movies. Still, much can be garnered from this offering. In this case, Van Patton does add his youthful presence and conspires to ask the question, why does it end the way it does. This is very unlike Bronson. ***