Movie Review: Two Mules for Sister Sara (1970) directed by Don Siegel
The time: July 1865. The place: Mexico. Hogan (Clint Eastwood). at loose ends since the end of the American Civil War, is headed south towards Chihuahua when he stumbles across several bandits attempting to rape a woman. While Hogan is by no means a good person, he has his standards, and he promptly kills the bandits. He’s surprised to learn the woman is a nun, Sister Sara (Shirley MacLaine). It turns out she’s come from Chihuahua, fleeing the French army.
It seems that Sister Sara angered the French occupation forces by raising money for the revolutionaries battling the puppet emperor Maximillian. As it happens, Hogan was recruited by Colonel Beltran (Manolo Fábregas) of the Juaristas to assist in an attack on the Chihuahua garrison in exchange for half the loot, and Sister Sara’s information on the setup there is good enough that he doesn’t have to go himself to scout. Plus he can hardly let a defenseless nun travel through this dangerous territory alone.
Hogan and Sara encounter many dangers, including Yaqui warriors that wound Hogan with an arrow, and a dying French officer that recognizes Sara (though the language he uses to describe her is far from spiritual.) They also blow up a troop train.
Eventually they connect with the Colonel, and a plan is hatched, which will need a lot of dynamite. Hogan shows his integrity by not just absconding with the purchase funds.
Unfortunately, the attack plan goes awry when the French troops in the garrison turn out not to be drunk for Bastille Day. The freedom fighters are outnumbered, outgunned, and have an alert foe. How can they turn this around?
While the movie has some funny moments in it, the trailer made it look more comedic than it actually is, especially in the last third, when it becomes a full-fledged war movie. This movie is very much in the “spaghetti Western” mold, using props from the Dollars Trilogy, Clint Eastwood as a hard-bitten gunslinger in a serape, and Ennio Morricone music. (The title music is…odd, but distinctive from his other work.)
I am given to understand that the first script was more of a Hollywood romantic comedy intended for a more saintly-looking woman playing Sara, so that the surprise that she’s not a nun would be less obvious. But after several changes of lead actors and directors, the rewrites had turned it considerably bawdier.
The location shooting in Mexico gives the movie lovely scenery, and many of the minor roles were played by local Mexican actors which helps with the authentic feel. (Much needed since MacLaine doesn’t feel like a Mexican national at all.) While I am told MacLaine and Eastwood didn’t get along behind the scenes, they do have good chemistry on screen.
The historical accuracy? Not so much, including the fact that during this time period, the French didn’t celebrate Bastille Day as a national holiday.
Content note: Quite a bit of combat violence, some gory. There’s an uncomfortable sequence where the arrow has to be removed from Hogan’s shoulder, while it’s covered in blood. Death of an animal (which unfortunately was real as the Mexican government insisted.) Attempted rape. Implied extramarital sex, prostitution is discussed. Very touchy Catholics may object to Sister Sara’s portrayal.
Not one of Eastwood’s great movies, but very serviceable. Recommended once you’ve blown through his other spaghetti westerns.
