Robert Beltran Movies

Part of the Foto-Novela film series, Broken Sky is a half-hour film directed by Carlos Avila. The illustrated story is inspired by Woody Guthrie's ballad "Deportee (Plane Wreck at Los Gatos)," which itself was inspired by the 1948 plane crash in Fresno, CA, that killed 28 Mexican passengers. Over 50 years later, Rodrigo Cortinas (Victor Campos) is nearing the end of his life. He is visited by the spirit of his wife, Rosario (Diana Uribe), who died in the plane crash. His son Mario (Robert Beltran) contemplates whether to put Rodrigo in a nursing home. Broken Sky was shown along with the short film Junkyard Saints as part of the Independent Lens series on PBS. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide

Eating Raoul was celebrated at the time of its release as the perfect marriage between mainstream moviemaking and the so-called "underground" cinema. Cult-film icons Mary Woronov and Paul Bartel (both of whom directed) play a married couple who decide to cash in on the sexual perversions of others. Posing as a hooker, Woronov lures the "johns" in and indulges their every kinky whim, whereupon Bartel kills the unwary client, steals the valuables, and sells the corpse for dog food. Though they see nothing wrong in what they're doing, they react in prudish disgust at the sexual preferences of their victims. Eventually, Raoul (Robert Beltran), the fellow who transports the corpses to the dog food concern, proves expendable--and extremely edible. Eating Raoul features a high-powered comic supporting cast, among them Buck Henry, Ed Begley Jr., Richard Paul, Hamilton Camp, and Edie McClurg. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Buffy the Vampire Slayer's Nicholas Brendon and 24's Sandrine Holt star in this infernal tale of terror concerning a massive fireball from the sun which strikes the Earth and unleashes an indestructible fire demon. As the flames spread out of control and the infernal invader begins taking possession of humans, the race is on to extinguish this otherworldly threat. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Gaby: A True Story is about a young woman -- the child of rich European refugees living in Mexico -- who was stricken with cerebral palsy at birth. Though her body is completely paralyzed, her mind is unaffected, and she is able to become a college graduate and an acclaimed author. Rachel Levin won acclaim in the title role, but Norma Aleandro received an Oscan nomination for Best Supporting Actress. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Movie Guide

Marcus De Leon directed this standard erotic thriller for Roger Corman's Concorde Pictures. Sexy Julie Carmen stars as Teresa Bozman, wife of Jake (Guy Boyd), a sadistic bar-owner in East Los Angeles. When a handsome singer named Tony Montero (Robert Beltran) is hired, his music boosts the club's business and steals Teresa's heart. Together, they plot to kill Jake and live happily ever after, but the usual complications ensue. A mostly Latino cast and authentic locations give this film more credibility than Dan Golden's tiresome redneck remake (also for Concorde), Saturday Night Special (1994). ~ Robert Firsching, All Movie Guide

The fighting between the Sandinista government in Nicaragua and the Contra rebels backed by U.S. money and expertise is the focus of this pro-Sandinista film by Haskell Wexler. The appropriately named Eddie Guerrero (translation Eddie "Warrior") is a Vietnam War veteran sent to help out the U.S. Special Forces as they train and abet the Contras in their forays across the border from Honduras into Nicaragua. Eddie becomes romantically involved with Marlena (Annette Cardona), and at first they see eye-to-eye on politics and the need to overthrow the Sandinistas. Then the excesses of the Contras in their raids across the border are brought home to Eddie, while Marlena sees that the new Nicaraguan society is not what Contra propaganda claims. For some viewers, the couple's eventual conversion to supporting the Nicaraguan government may seem like one more cog in an anti-Contra diatribe, which is regrettable since Wexler could have given this film enough nuances to present the subtleties of the conflict and still prove his point. ~ Eleanor Mannikka, All Movie Guide

Billed as a Latina Waiting to Exhale, this film details the life and loves of four Hispanic women: Sofia, a therapist; Andrea, a divorced lawyer; Irene, a flashy clothes designer; and Lilly, an artist. The women gather every week at the nightspot Luminarias to discuss jobs, family, love, and sex. Sofia, who dates white men in the hope of fitting into Anglo culture, becomes smitten with an amorous Mexican waiter. On the other hand, Andrea, who believes that white guys are only interested in Hispanic woman as exotic love toys, finds herself falling for a Jewish lawyer. While Lilly deals with racism from her Korean-American boyfriend's family, sexpot Irene has her own conflicted feelings toward her transvestite brother. Luminarias was screened at the 1999 San Sebastian Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide

This time the murder victim is a nasty and abusive loan shark (Robert Beltran). The main suspect is the shark's stepson, a young graffiti artist (William Gallo). A picture taken with infrared film would seem to prove the young man's guilt beyond all doubt. Ah, but the police have reckoned without Jessica Fletcher (Angela Lansbury--who just so happens to be the suspect's writing teacher, and as such is inclined to believe him innocent. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

Oliver Stone, the most outspokenly political American filmmaker of the 1980s and '90s, directs this epic-length biography of Richard Nixon, the 37th President of the U.S., who was re-elected by a landslide in 1972, only to resign in disgrace two years later. Taking a non-linear approach, Nixon jumps back and forth between many different periods and events, from Nixon's strict upbringing at the hands of his Quaker mother, through the many peaks and valleys of his political career, to his downfall in the wake of the Watergate scandal. The facts of his life are blended with supposition and speculation to create a portrait that is often critical of the man's policies but displays an unexpected compassion toward his failings as a human being. Anthony Hopkins stars as Nixon, Joan Allen plays his long-suffering wife Pat, Mary Steenburgen portrays his mother Hannah, Bob Hoskins is cast as J. Edgar Hoover, Powers Boothe plays Alexander Haig, Paul Sorvino portrays Henry Kisinger, and Ed Harris plays E. Howard Hunt. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide

In this made-for-cable TV movie, Los Angeles police officer John Kane (Scott Glenn) is sent to Arizona to retrieve a murder suspect from a Navajo reservation. However, when his charge escapes, John must hunt down the suspect and overcome the powerful dark magic that he possesses. ~ Iotis Erlewine, All Movie Guide

While tracking down a group of Maquis terrorists, the crew of the starship Voyager is caught in a freak plasma storm and hurtled some 75,000 light years from Starfleet Command -- and thus begins the first episode, and the seven-season saga, of Star Trek: Voyager. Upon realizing her plight, Voyager captain Kathryn Janeway (Kate Mulgrew) also discovers that a being called the Caretaker has brought both her ship and the Maquis vessel to an uncharted patch of galaxy known as the Gamma Quadrant, in hopes of finding someone who can help him keep his promise to protect a race known as the Ocampa. Before long, Janeway's crew and the Maquis must do battle with a common enemy, the Kazon, and in the ensuing battle the Caretaker dies. It is now up to Janeway and Maquis leader, Chakotay (Robert Beltran), to work together in harmony, with Chakotay becoming Voyager's first officer, and another Maquis warrior, the half-Klingon, half-human B'Elanna Torres (Roxann Biggs-Dawson), taking over as Janeway's chief engineer. Also added to the "Voyager" roster are a brace of Gamma Quadrant aliens, the Ocampan Kex (Jennifer Lien) and the Talaxian Neelix (Ethan Phillips), not to mention the ship's new Doctor (Robert Picardo), actually a holographic human manifestation of the vessel's emergency medical computer program. Rounding out the main cast is Janeway's veteran comrade-in-arms Paris (Robert Duncan McNeill); Kim (Garrett Wang), a green rookie fresh from Starfleet Academy; and the Vulcan Tuvok (Tim Russ),who had signed on the Maquis ship as a Federation spy. Season one of Star Trek: Voyager finds Janeway simultaneously trying to fulfill the Caretaker's promise and to safely guide her crew back to Starfleet Command in the Alpha Quadrant. The season's slam-bang finale is dictated by the treachery of Voyager crew person Seska (Martha Hackett), who turns out to be loyal only to the Kazon. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide