Power and important woman and a mediocre film.
It had a good beginning and a stronger middle section, but then the film lost steam and dragged in the last quarter. It could benefit from cutting 10 or 15 minutes.
That being said, she's a wonderful historical figure, and I'm happy that I was able to learn more about Dolores Huerta.
Dolores
2017
Biography / Documentary / History
Dolores
2017
Biography / Documentary / History
Plot summary
Dolores Huerta bucks 1950s gender conventions by starting the country's first farm worker's union with fellow organizer Cesar Chavez. What starts out as a struggle for racial and labor justice, soon becomes a fight for gender equality within the same union she is eventually forced to leave. As she wrestles with raising 11 children, three marriages, and is nearly beaten to death by a San Francisco tactical police squad, Dolores emerges with a vision that connects her new found feminism with racial and class justice.
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Power and important woman and a mediocre film
Excellent documentary
Dolores Huerta co-founded the United Farmworkers with Cesar Chavez. You probably have heard of Chavez but may not know of Huerta. She really did as much work or more than Chavez and did not get enough credit for her contributions. She deserves this documentary about her life. I learned so much more about her than I already knew. Her family's sacrifices are explored as well as her accomplishments and activism that went beyond the Farmworkers Union when they failed to elect her as President after Chavez died.
Great biography of a remarkable woman
Dolores Huerta was a key player in the United Farmworkers struggle for many years. She's a fascinating person who had to choose between her family and the struggle of the Mexican-American farmworkers. She chose the farmworker's struggle, and her contributions are well known to people who have followed that struggle over the years.
For better or for worse, almost all of the credit went to Cesar Chavez. Chavez deserves everything good that people say about him. Unfortunately, in the public's mind, he was the sole leader of UFW. Dolores was at his side the whole time, sometimes literally and sometimes figuratively, but she never shared the limelight with Chavez.
There's some great documentary footage of the union struggle. However, Dolores has time to tell her own story in her own words. (As I write this review, in 2018, she's still alive and well.)
Dolores had 11 children, and the filmmakers were able to interview most of them. They understand the choice their mother made to assign them to her second priority. However, most of them feel that they grew up without a mother, because Huerta was away so much.
The story doesn't have a completely happy ending. After Chavez died, many assumed that Huerta would become UFW president. However, machismo prevailed, and she was passed over. She is still fighting the good fight, but not as part of the union she helped to organize.
This movie has an IMDb rating of 6.9, which isn't terrible. However, I think that rating is too low. If you're interested in a film about a remarkable woman, "Dolores" is a must-see movie. Even if the UFW and the name Dolores Huerta don't mean much to you, I still recommend this movie. We saw it on DVD, and it worked well on the small screen