“Bless Me, Ultima” (2013), based on novel by Rudolfo Anaya, filmed in Abiquiu, N.M. It is easy to see “Bless Me, Ultima” as a coming of age story. The movie is filmed through the eyes of a young boy, Antonio, growing up in New Mexico during World War II and his relationship with Ultima, who is viewed by the outside world as either as a “bruja” or witch or “curandera,” a healer. It is a time when young men are…
“Believe in Me” (2006), starring Jeffrey Donovan, Samantha Mathis, Bruce Dern, filmed in Clovis, Portales, Elida, Floyd, Moriarty and Albuquerque, rated PG. Based on the true story of small town Oklahoma high school basketball coach, Jim Keith, “Believe in Me” is a feel good movie about what happens when a coach expecting to teach boys is forced to take over a girls’ team in the 1960s. The movie portrays pre-Title IX girls’ sports and the attitudes facing young athletes who…
“The Atomic City” (1952), starring Gene Barry, filmed in Los Alamos, Puye Cliff dwellings The acting debut of Gene Barry, who plays a Los Alamos physicist whose son has been kidnapped, this low-budget thriller is a manifestation of the paranoia of Communism and the growing fear of nuclear Armageddon during the Cold War. The opening scene has a documentary feel: As the first full-length movie allowed to be filmed in Los Alamos, the tone reflects the top secret security atmosphere…