Bound by Honor

Based on the true life experiences of poet Jimmy Santiago Baca, the film focuses on half-brothers Paco and Cruz…

• Director:Taylor Hackford
• Genre:Action / Crime / Drama / Thriller
• Runtime:190 minutes

Cast

Damian Chapa : Miklo
Jesse Borrego : Cruz
Benjamin Bratt : Paco
Enrique Castillo : Montana
Victor Rivers : Magic Mike

Miklo (Chapa) is a man of mixed ethnicity Mexican and white who, before coming to live with his cousins, attacked his father. Miklo has a Mexican accent however, his white appearance (fair skin, blonde hair and blue eyes) from his caucasian father has made him less accepted among the people of El Pico Aliso barrio, where they have all grown up. It has also earned him the nickname “Milkweed.” On his return from juvenile hall, Miklo visits his mother, who is actually the younger sister of Paco’s mother, and proves himself worthy for the gang when he performs an attack on a rival gang, Tres Puntos. His assault earns him a placa, a tattoo as a token of his membership in the Vatos Locos mate street gang. However, the Tres Puntos gang soon takes revenge by brutally attacking Cruz and damaging his back for life. When Vatos Locos learn of the attack, they perform a well-planned counterattack ending dramatically with the murder of the rival gang’s leader (Spider). While trying to escape, Miklo and Paco (Bratt) are apprehended by the police.

Their three paths diverge: Miklo is sent to San Quentin State Prison for violating his probation, Paco volunteers for military service in the United States Marine Corps and Cruz (Borrego) becomes a heroin addict. His addiction leads to him being disowned by his family after his 13-year-old brother Juanito dies of an accidental overdose on Cruz’s heroin supply. Paco becomes an L.A.P.D. narcotics detective after leaving the Marine Corps.

While in San Quentin, Miklo finds trouble adapting to prison life as his multiethnic heritage provides him with few allies in a racially-segregated penitentiary. The prison is run by three gangs, all of whom are based on their racial backgrounds. The Black Guerrilla Army is led by an inmate named Bonafide, the Aryan Vanguard is led by an inmate named Red Ryder, and La Onda is led by Montana (Enrique Castillo). Miklo is brought to meet the head of La Onda by a fellow inmate, Popeye, who recognizes his gang tattoo from East Los Angeles. La Onda’s members do not initially accept Miklo due to his White appearance, and the Aryan inmates in the meantime are trying to make Miklo into their sex slave. After meeting La Onda’s leader Montana, he is told the only way into La Onda is killing an enemy inmate, in Miklo’s case a white inmate due to their current war and his White appearance. Miklo agrees to do so, and after gaining the trust of gambling lord Big Al; stabs him to death during a sexual encounter in the prison kitchen and stealing his gambling information from him in the process. The corrections officers are unable to charge Miklo with the crime, as he has threatened to testify against them with information regarding the gambling kickbacks which they had taken from Big Al. Miklo is initiated into La Onda and is then told by Montana to work on his parole while enacting their orders. Based on Montana’s mentoring, Miklo is released on parole. Read more

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