A Song for Cesar

If conventional dramatic biopics grapple consistently with the difficulties of condensing a full and rich life into a reasonable running time, so too do nonfiction films examining a specific person or even a social movement – in their case typically struggling with integrating that focused illumination into a broader portrait of the changing culture at large. Co-directed by Abel Sanchez and Andrés Alegria, A Song for Cesar brings a unique point of view to the life and legacy of labor leader and civil rights activist Cesar Chavez, who in the 1960s worked tirelessly on a series of campaigns to improve the lives and livelihoods of exploited, overwhelmingly immigrant Mexican field laborers in the United States.