Directed by Agustín Díaz Yanes, Oro is a movie that combines dark Spanish history, the search for gold (rather fools gold), the affection of a woman, and dozens of unnecessary killings into a grueling 1 hour and 43 minutes. The film was released on November 10th, 2017 and is rated R. This is not a surprise as throughout the movie there is so much violence, blood, rape, beatings, and aggression - viewers be advised. But with all of the violence, there are the emerging themes of tension of Spanish autonomies between the soldiers, the will to survive, masculine rivalries for the affection of a woman, the influence of religion, and the fight for fame, glory, and of course, gold. Although I do not rate this film 10 stars, I do think that it deserves to be watched for its historical representation and the plot twists that eventually lead to a ridiculous ending that will leave you wanting more.

The movie starts off with two small paragraphs explaining the setting of why expeditions of men were in the jungle in the first place. In the 16th century, Spaniards who were poor and hungry became soldiers. These soldiers would then be placed in expeditions to discover the Indies, which offered fame and fortune (gold). The rewards seemed grand, but the cost was your life if given the chance. These men were cruel, aggressive, and tough. They did not only kill the natives, but also each other. Fights would constantly break out over their different birthplaces. The search for a new world began, and this is where the movie begins.

In 1553 in the Indies, a king's soldier named Martín Dávila takes part in an expedition to find the lost City of Gold (Tezultán). As the group is traveling to the location of the lost city, word comes from the Viceroy of Spain who wants the gold for himself and proclaims that their leader Don Gonzalo Baztán and his team will be hanged for treason. The Viceroy has already sent another expedition to find them, kill them, and get the gold. Baztán's team decides to move forward with finding the gold. Along the way the soldiers face challenges of deceit, death, fights, murders, Indians, divisions, and the loss of friends and lovers.

Oro is a grimacing representation of Spain's dark conquests into the new world. In my opinion, the most overarching theme is the quest for god, glory, and gold. All of the men want to find the gold and have fortune. If the men die in the jungle, then their shares will be put towards the ones who are left alive. As the movie progresses, the want for gold consumes all of the men to the point where they start killing each other for it when it has not even been found yet. The few who remain sane like Martín, just try to survive. You cannot have gold if you are dead.

As a college student who is majoring in Spanish, I think this film is good for not only immersing yourself into Spanish, but also to learn a little about Spain's history. Although there is a lot happening, you can always pause and listen to the lines again. Overall, I had higher expectations for this film than what I was given. It was ok, but it could have been so much more. And do not get me started on the ending! I have never been so upset with a film. After everything that Martín and the other soldiers went through and NADA. No gold. Just some glazed sand that looks like it. If you like the sense of adventure, a little splash of romance, and flood of violence, then this is the movie for you.

Acting was decent and the story is not bad,but the script was absolutely horrible so is directing of this movie. It's very boring. Not sure what else to add to this. There isn't much going on other than lots of pointless walking. It starts in nowhere, leads nowhere and ends nowhere. Could've been a great piece with some action, some dialogs that connected you to any of the characters. As people die, you just don't care. There's just 1 drama during the movie and it had nothing to do with the movie, which was another pointless thing in the script. Just quite a bit lack of common sense and that lack of common sense haunted the whole movie during a lot of the scenes that made little sense.

It easily could've been a 6 or 7 with just some thought put into it.

May be people who gave really low ratings wanted a typical Hollywood movie??

The movie keep me entertained all the time, the settings, environment, actors, costumes and story are all very high quality.

A really great realistic explorer & adventure movie, feels like you are there in the jungle with them.

9/10