banned about 10 years by Mexican Goverment. An illiterate Indian (Ignacio Lopez Tarso) lives an idyllic existence as a landowner on Mexico's Gulf Coast until the greed of a US oil company gets in the way. He is murdered and the lives of all those around him are irrevocably destroyed as the company takes over the land by crooked means. Based on the novel by B.Traven. La Rosa Blanca, directed by Roberto Gavaldon, is an exquisite work featuring cinematography by the illustrious Gabriel Figueroa. Originally completed in 1961, it was canned for eleven years because of its highly political nature. Mexico was suffering from the effects of a boom and bust oil economy during the early 1960s, therefore making its subject matter sensitive. It has often been mischaracterized as being anti-American: it is not. The film is, however, against the exploitative nature of oil corporations, a poignant fact that has significant value today.