Cesar's Last Fast
{{Infobox film
| name = Cesar's Last Fast
| image = CLF poster.jpg
| caption = Sundance poster
| director = Richard Ray Perez
Lorena Parlee
| producer = Molly O'Brien
Lisa Remington
Richard Ray Perez
Lorena Parlee
| writer =
| starring =
| music = Ed Barguiarena
| cinematography = James Chressanthis
James R. Dunham
Stephen McCarthy
Jonathan Schell
Byron Shah
| editing = Jean-Philippe Boucicaut
Lewis Erskine
Carla Gutierrez
Christopher S. Johnson
| studio = Monkey Mind Media
| distributor =
| released = {{film date|2014|1|19|Sundance}}
| runtime = 100 minutes
| country = United States
| language = English
| budget =
}}
Cesar's Last Fast is a 2014 American documentary film co-directed and produced by Richard Ray Perez and Lorena Parlee.{{cite web|title="Cesar's Last Fast": How Cesar Chavez Risked Death to Protect the Lives of Farmworkers He Championed|website=Democracy Now! |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2014/1/23/cesars_last_fast_how_cesar_chavez|accessdate=8 April 2014}} The film premiered in the U.S. Documentary Competition at the 2014 Sundance Film Festival on January 19, 2014.{{cite web|title=Sundance 2014: U.S. Documentary Competition|date=10 January 2014 |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-2014-us-documentary-competition|accessdate=8 April 2014}}
Before the premiere of the film at Sundance Film Festival, Pivot and Univision News acquired the TV rights to the film. The film will premiere simultaneously in English on Pivot and in Spanish on the Univision Network.{{cite web|title=Pivot and Univision Acquire TV Rights to Doc 'Cesar's Last Fast' Ahead of Sundance Premiere|date=18 January 2014 |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/television/pivot-and-univision-acquire-us-tv-rights-to-doc-cesars-last-fast-out-of-sundance|accessdate=8 April 2014}}{{cite web|title=PIVOT AND UNIVISION ACQUIRE EXCLUSIVE U.S. TV RIGHTS TO 'CESAR'S LAST FAST|url=http://www.participantmedia.com/2014/01/pivot-univision-acquire-exclusive-u-s-tv-rights-cesars-fast/|accessdate=8 April 2014|url-status=dead|archiveurl=http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20140120153309/http%3A//www.participantmedia.com/2014/01/pivot%2Dunivision%2Dacquire%2Dexclusive%2Du%2Ds%2Dtv%2Drights%2Dcesars%2Dfast/|archivedate=20 January 2014}}
Plot
The film narrates the events of 1988, when Cesar Chavez began his "Fast for Life," a 36-day water-only hunger strike, to draw attention to the horrific effects of unfettered pesticide use on farm workers, their families, and their communities.{{cite web|title=About The Film|url=http://cesarslastfast.com/?page_id=5|accessdate=8 April 2014|archive-date=9 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140409013037/http://cesarslastfast.com/?page_id=5|url-status=dead}}
Reception
The film received mixed to positive response from critics. Dennis Harvey in his review for Variety said that "While not necessarily the definitive cinematic account of Chavez's life or the UFW movement, Cesar's Last Fast provides a well-crafted, sometimes stirring encapsulation."{{cite web|title=Sundance Film Review: 'Cesar's Last Fast'|date=27 January 2014 |url=https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/sundance-film-review-cesars-last-fast-1201072297/|accessdate=8 April 2014}} Justin Lowe of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film positive review and said that "A reverential perspective on America's renowned union founder and leader."{{cite web|title=Cesar's Last Fast: Sundance Review|website=The Hollywood Reporter |date=25 January 2014 |url=http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/cesar-s-last-fast-sundance-674055|accessdate=8 April 2014}} Carlos Aguilar from Indiewire in his review said that "Touching, insightful, and extremely well crafted, Richard Ray Perez's work shows above all an admiration for a man whose life wasn't entirely his but of his people."{{cite web|title=Sundance Review: Bodily Deprivation For Justice In the Spiritually Charged 'Cesar's Last Fast'|date=23 January 2014 |url=http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-review-bodily-deprivation-for-justice-in-the-spiritually-charged-cesars-last-fast|accessdate=8 April 2014}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [http://cesarslastfast.com/ Official website]
- {{IMDb title|3460082|Cesar's Last Fast}}
- {{Rotten-tomatoes|cesars_last_fast_2010|Cesar's Last Fast}}
{{Cesar Chavez}}
Category:American documentary films
Category:2014 documentary films
Category:Documentary films about labor relations in the United States
Category:Hunger strikes in the United States
Category:Toxic effects of pesticides
Category:Films about activists
Category:2010s English-language films
Category:English-language documentary films
{{2010s-documentary-film-stub}}