Tremendously talented, but also unfortunately underrated, Michael Peña is the kind of presence we always enjoy in a movie, but he’s usually found in a supporting role. But thankfully, Diego Luna has recognized that the actor has more than enough skill and charisma to carry a picture, and he’s doing just that in his biopic “Cesar Chavez: An American Hero.” And now, we have a taste of how it turned out in the first trailer for the film.
But we have to admit, we sorta forgot about this movie. First announced well over a year ago, and without any presence on the festival circuit this year, it has been flying under the radar, but now it’s definitely back on our mind. Keir Pearson (“Hotel Rwanda“) penned the movie that will tell the tale of the ’60s and ’70s labor activist Cesar E. Chavez, the man who organized the largest non-violent protest in U.S. history to accomplish his goal of obtaining basic human rights for over 50,000 farm workers in California. And obviously, it’s a struggle that got him in no shortage of hot water.
As you might guess, the movie flirts with contemporary issues around the status of working immigrants—legal or not—in the United States, but it’s an issue the filmmakers are side-stepping. “That’s apart from this story,” said Jonathan King, an executive of production company Participant, to The New York Times. “This story is about the boycott.”
But with the release slated for April 4, 2014, just a few days after Chavez’s birthday on March 31st, you can bet this one will earn all manner of attention. Watch below.