Set at the turn of the century, this is the story of one of the most notorious manhunts in Texas history. Edward James Olmos stars as a young Mexican farmhand who, because of a linguistic miscommunication, kills a U.S. sheriff in self-defense and lights out for the border with the Texas Rangers in hot pursuit. The longer he evades capture, the more inflated the myth of his deed becomes and the more ironic the backlash that finally descends on the hapless, determinedly nonheroic Cortez. Beautifully shot and directed with great understatement, this is a film of considerable poignancy and compassion.