The revolution is not a social dinner, a literary event, a drawing or an embroidery; it cannot be done with... elegance and courtesy. The revolution is an act of violence...
-Mao Tse-tung
This was my final Sergio Leone blindspot. Never got around to watching this one before and really enjoyed it. The working title "Once upon a time ... a revolution" fits better in my opionion, because the movie tries to deconstruct the romanticization of a revolution and shows its most violent parts.
My only problem and the elephant in the room here, is the rape scene in the beginning. It doesnt fit the tone of the rest of the movie and makes it harder to see Juan as the comic relief character. There is only one woman in a speaking role and she is not only raped but its also implied that she liked it, which is pretty disgusting.
Now the parts I really liked. The dynamic between Sean/John and Juan is entertaining over the whole runtime and both of them have an interesting character arc up until the last second.
The third main character here is the revolution itself (ik it sounds pretentious, sorry). We can see the oppression of the population as a justified cause for a change, but on the other hand we see the price you have to pay fo a revolution in how it affects Juan in the present or John in the past. The two of them also discuss this topic in the middle of the movie, which is one of my favourite parts.
The violence intensifies with every minute and every victory gets countered in the following scene by an even more gruesome mass execution.
The score is not as prominent as in the other Leone/Morricone collaborations, but I still liked it a lot.
Overall I can highly recommend it