so the very premise of this film is: two young boys fall in love with the same girl (and then two deities bet on which will win)
there is the obvious protagonist – the suave and kind heartened Manolo Sanchez. He’s the obvious romantic, with a love for singing, but high expecting to be a bull fighter despite never wanting to killt he bull. He is favoured by the beautiful La Muerte, Ruler and Queen of the Land of The Remembered.
His rival is the dashing Joaquin Mondragon, a man following in his father’s footsteps as town hero and fighter. He is favoured by Xibalba,the demonic rule of the Land of The Forgotten. He bestows a magical medal upon Joaquin making him immune to hurt, and thus giving him the ability to be the best town hero.
the film is very obviously set up that you root for Manolo to win Maria’s heart, and it is obvious who Maria favours right from the start. However, in any other film it would have been easy to turn or show the Rival, Joaquin, in a much more negative light.
This is the thing that stood out to me most in the Book of Life. Joaquin is still painted, in part, as a hero. This stood out to me because it just shows good writing, in that they could have two equally complex and interesting characters, without relying on making one “the bad guy” to show who would win the lady’s heart. Instead, they showed that through the character’s interactions, and show why Joaquin isn’t suited to Maria quite, and the mistakes he makes in trying to win her heart anyway.
He is never not shown as being a friend to Manolo I mean just look at this face when he see his friend succeeding ~
but most notable is Joaquin’s reaction after Manolo’s “death”, and the subsequent encouragement by Maria’s father to marry him in order to give him a reason to stay and protect the town from bandits (rather than travelling to other towns to help them for more his own glory)
even when she accepts his proposal, Joaquin doesn’t look happy about it, rather, he is obviously sad as Maria so clearly loves Manolo. this isn’t even “I’m sad because I’m second best” but genuine sadness for the death of his friend, and because he doesn’t want Maria to feel she has no choice in marrying him, because they too are friends.
And later when Manolo returns, alive, Joaquin isn’t bitter or resentful. In fact, this further serves his own character growth and progression: and shows how he has learnt to be a true and selfless hero:
and from her comes one of the most important messages of the movie (other than the general “love conquers all”, “fight for what you love” and other positive messages)
Which is when it really hits home that both Manolo and Joaquin, aside from their friendly competition in winning a woman’s love, have both gone through the same journey of finding themselves, and freeing themselves from a legacy that has been thrusted upon them.
AngelMihe 