'Bless Me, Ultima' -- 2 1/2 stars

( February 21, 2013 )

PG-13; 1:42 running time

In Anaya's tale there are good witches, and there are bad witches, and as Antonio's days are spent in grade school, or in the fields with his uncles, or under the spiritual guidance of Ultima, the coming-of-age narrative returns, always, to the New Mexico landscape. Franklin's approach here is simple, clean and clear, perhaps too much so for a story swimming in metaphors and the supernatural. A vicious landowner and his three "Macbeth"-inspired daughters provide the oppositional force in the story. -- Michael Phillips

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