One Man's Hero

1999 "One man's hero is another man's traitor."
6| 2h1m| R| en
Details

One Man's Hero tells the little-known story of the "St. Patrick's Battalion" or "San Patricios," a group of mostly Irish and other immigrants of the Catholic faith who deserted to Mexico after encountering religious and ethnic prejudice in the U.S. Army during the Mexican-American War. The plot centers around the personal story of John Riley, an Irishman who had been a sergeant in the American Army who is commissioned as a captain in the Mexican army and commands the battalion, as he leads his men in battle and struggles with authorities on both sides of the border

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Reviews

Scanialara You won't be disappointed!
Vashirdfel Simply A Masterpiece
Onlinewsma Absolutely Brilliant!
Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.
ghcheese Once again I sit here a watch a movie that is supposed to be history. Sadly the bias in Hollywood movie making is cringe worthy. Once again we the people of the United States are reduced to bigots. This time to Irish Catholics. There is some truth to the story. But it is slanted to teach you how awful we are.
lost-in-limbo An epic, slow grinding war story of source accounts with romance, faith and loyalty streaming through. I don't know how true it is to the facts, but you couldn't help but admire its powerful scope and sound performances led by Tom Berenger. Irishman John Riley leads his fellow countrymen who desert to Mexico just before the American-Mexican war after encountering religious and ethnic prejudice in the US cavalry. While holding up in Mexico, war is ignited and the men form the St Patrick's brigade where they become allies with the Mexicans. The story shows how much in common these two sides shared in their viewpoint of freedom, which the Irish men saw when they lived and fought side by side with the Mexicans. They kept fighting on, despite the odds being stacked up against them. The war scenes are dramatically staged with strategic precision and bravery, as it becomes a stirring display of chemistry and spirit between the cast. The characters do provide good insight and form lasting impressions, making the entire ordeal even more effective when they meet their fate. Joaquim de Almeida is perfectly strong willed as a Mexican outlaw and Daniela Roma as the Mexican lady caught in a love triangle."One man's hero. Is another man's traitor I reckon sir."
Catherine This was a very emotional movie, which could not have been pulled off without the excellent acting by the main three characters, especially Tom Berenger. ALL history should be taught, and as Lynn said, let us make our personal judgements. It was a sad time that gave me more understanding not only to our own military, but to the frustrated Irishmen of the times. Thank you everyone, for making this wonderful vision for us all.
yojimbo999 OMH is a poorly made film. The acting is mediocre, even from the normally good Berenger, and what passes for "action" is, well, not very passable. The war scenes are badly done and looks fake as well as cheap in production values.The story is interesting. Irish deserters join the Mexicans in the Mexican American war. of course, you'll have to be completely biased toward one side in order to LOVE or HATE this movie. I, on the other hand, would rather take the film at its own merits, and, well, it isn't very good.On an aside, isn't it wonderful how evil all the American characters are? The Mexicans look like saints! LOL. What a laugh. Of course, I am a student of history, and I know that the burgeoning Americans were WAY OUTNUMBERED by the Mexicans, who had a stable and massive army as opposed to the ragged and sometimes undisciplined American army. And YET the Americans still won! So what exactly is the "truth" being told here?All in all, a mediocre film. Not all that great as a war movie, and sometimes too cheesy and obvious as a drama. I do wish they'd treat everyone as people, not just cut-out stereotypes. Unfortunately, in order to make our deserters and traitors the "good guys" the filmmakers went out of their way to paint every single American soldier as less than human. Too bad, because this is a very interesting piece of history. Unfortunately it looks like a bad High School production, and that's insulting High School productions everywhere.