The first American voice that is heard in Amigo , John Sayles’s ponderous cine-play set during the U.S. occupation of the Philippines at the turn of the 19th century, rips through the air with the brutal dissonance of an artillery shell. The torqued South Carolina accent of actor Brian Lee Franklin — cursing out the country’s “little monkeys” — announces the arrival of an American squadron in the tiny Philippine “baryo” where they and Amigo remain for the next two hours. Along with an introductory crack about “hearts and minds” made by squad Lieutenant Compton (Garret Dillahunt), that private’s twanging epithet puts the audience on Code Orange allegory alert.
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REVIEW: Allegory Alert! John Sayles’ Amigo Riffs on American Imperialism
