Price
of Glory creates a story of
family tension and boxing ascendancy in the mythical Ortega family of
Arizona. Arturo (Jimmy Smits), the father of the clan and once a rising
star in the middle weight ranks, lost his shot at real boxing glory
because he was moved up too fast by a greedy promoter. The stinging
insult of Arturo’s broken dream never goes away, and he still hopes to
find his glory through the three sons he is grooming into boxing
champions.
Screenwriter Phil Berger has covered
boxing extensively in magazines, newspapers, and several books, and his
in-depth knowledge creates the core strength of the movie. The fight
scenes are superbly choreographed to bring us the sense of punishment
and pure physical spectacle of the ring. The fights
have all the sweat popping punches, bruises, and blood necessary to
satisfy the sport aficionado. We cheered at the end of the Rocky-like
obligatory title match by the middle son, Sonny (Jon Seda).
Price of Glory is
directed by first timer Carlos Ávila and includes key crew and producer
credits from the Latino community along with the top caliber soundtrack
that rocks with Latin rhythm. This holds promise for main line, English
language films to emerge from this important cultural element in the
American milieu.
Unfortunately, the family drama, though
well acted, struggles to maintain a consistent and believable focus. The
schism created by Arturo lusting for his own lost glory through his sons
is given powerful build-up with far too little pay off. Each of the
three brothers has a very different relationship with the old man, and
thus the conflict and Arturo’s spiritual need to change is defused.
The eldest son Jimmy (Clifton Collins, Jr. aka Clifton Gonzalez), who
seems most damaged by Arturo’s drive, is openly hostile and, at the
same time, breaking down under the pressure to be successful and earn
his father’s love and pride. The middle son, Sonny, has much higher
chances of success because of his natural boxing gifts and goes through
a quieter but also deeper divide with the father. The youngest son
remains closest to the old man and seems to be the best fighter, the one
with the killer instinct, but in an interesting symbolic twist, his
loyalty to Arturo is the cause of his downfall. Because these
relationships are emotionally well set-up, the need for a strong
reconciliation is greater, but Arturo’s efforts, though worthy, are
scattered between the three boys and ultimately too weak to justify or
redeem him.
The women in the story suffer even more
from insufficient development. Mama Ortega (Maria del Mar) sits quietly
while her husband is insulting future in-laws and brow beating the boys.
She spouts a few "wise" lines of challenge like "Are you
sure you know what you are doing, Arturo?" but she never really
takes him on. Sonny’s fiancé and wife seems there only to decorate
his arm and deepen his conflict with Arturo.
Too many scenes resort to contrived
confrontation to deliver surface punches, but deeper down, they grate
with their incompletion or flight from sensibilities. If this had been a
movie with simpler intentions and more fight scenes, we’d at least
know what we might be expecting and be happier with what we got.
As a last resort, just when it seems
that all of the conflicts are pulling in too many directions, the movie
manages to fall back on boxing for its closure. Through boxing, Arturo
ruined his relationships with his sons, and through boxing, he pulls
them through to their success. When the final match is upon them, the
Ortega men emerge together, but this time, Arturo follows his sons. For
the first time, he is there as a proud and supportive father, regardless
of the outcome. Stereotypical perhaps, but it just saves the film,
supplying a somewhat satisfying wrap up to the sports themes and the
familial tensions.
