CESAR CHEVAZ | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"CESAR CHEVAZ"
(2014) (Michael Pena, America Ferrera) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Drama: A Mexican-American social activist tries to organize migrant farm workers into a union in 1960s era California.

PLOT:

It's the 1960s and Cesar Chavez (MICHAEL PENA) is a Mexican-American who grew up working as a migrant farm worker in California, but after a stint in the Navy has become a social activist working for the Latino civil rights group, Community Service Organization (CSO). Married to Helen (AMERICA FERRERA) with whom he has eight kids, including oldest son Fernando (ELI VARGAS), Cesar has been working on a grass roots movement of trying to organize the migrant workers in order to provide them with better working conditions.

Realizing he can't do that very well from Los Angeles, he packs up the family and moves to Delano, California to be closer to those farmhands, and is eventually joined by fellow CSO worker Dolores Huerta (ROSARIO DAWSON) and others who join the cause. As they attempt to organize those workers, however, they must contend with the local law in the form of Sheriff Smith (MICHAEL CUDLITZ) who's getting pressure from the likes of grape grower John Bogdanovich (GABRIEL MANN) -- who's had the business handed down to him by his former immigrant father (JOHN MALKOVICH) -- to do something about it.

Preaching non-violent protest and strikes as the way to get their message out there and thus cause reform, Cesar also goes on week-long fasts. He also embarks on a more than 300-mile march with Helen, Dolores and others as they head to Sacramento in hopes of getting the laws changed and to force the farm owners' hands in such negotiations.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Unless they're interested in the real man, his story and/or are fans of anyone in the cast, it doesn't seem too likely.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For some violence and language.

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