“You need to help me cast the Vatos Locos.” Season one of More Than a Movie offered a deep dive on American Me - Edward James Olmos’ notorious directorial debut about the formation of a real-life Mexican prison gang. In this episode, we take a look at the film that came just one year later - allegedly delayed in part because of the release of and reception to American Me - that has a startlingly similar premise, but a lot more heart. We talked to Jesse Borrego, the actor who played Cruz, about being tasked with finding the Vatos Locos and training them in the ways of chicanismo; and Enrique Castillo, who had to shape the character of big, bad Montana while filming in a fully-operating maximum security prison with real inmates.

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