The Long Game – SXSW

By: Jennifer Vintzileos

In the game of golf, the ultimate goal is to play what is considered the “long game” – driving longer shots to minimize the distance between the ball and the cup. But for the 1955 San Felipe High School golf team, that term will mean more than just a decent golf score. Based off the book Mustang Miracle by Humberto G. Garcia and directed by Julio Quintana, the movie The Long Game delves into the story of Lupe Felan (Jose Julian), Felipe Romero (Miguel Angel Garcia), Mario Lomas (Christian Gallegos), Gene Vasquez (Gregory Diaz IV) and Joe Treviño (Julian Works), the original members of the San Felipe High School golf team, and the successes and struggles they face in competing what was well-known as a wealthy, white man’s sport during that time. While they face an uphill battle of their worth on the green, it’s their love of the game and natural talents for the sport that proves money and prestige mean nothing when you play with your heart. 

When JB Peña (Jay Hernandez) arrives to Del Rio, Texas to become the new superintendent of San Felipe High School, he is eager to find a country club that will accept him as a member so that he can play his favorite sport: golf. After being rejected for membership from the Del Rio Country Club and on his way back home, Peña also finds himself with a broken window due to a wayward golf ball. But after realizing that Felan, Romero, Lomas, Vasquez and Treviño were responsible for that broken window, Peña gets the idea to create a club and impart his knowledge of the game to win tournaments and foster a love of the game they enjoy playing. With the help of former golf pro Frank Mitchell (Dennis Quaid) and Del Rio greenskeeper Pollo (Cheech Marin), the boys learn about more than just the rules of the game…they learn how to carry themselves with dignity in a world that rebuffs their very presence. 

In The Long Game, Quintana brings Garcia’s novel to life and reminds us as the viewer that battles were won in more than just a war. For those original members of the San Felipe golf team, those battles were on the green. Their sacrifices came in scrutiny from the elite that did not want to acknowledge that talent existed beyond skin color or ethnicity. This rang very true for Works’ character Joe Treviño, especially when his talents seem to rattle his blue-collar father (Jimmy Gonzales) and be intimidated by his girlfriend Daniela’s (Paulina Chávez) ambitions as she navigates academia outside of Del Rio.  

And while the team members were a main focal point throughout the film, it was Peña’s journey that truly resonated with me. Hernandez brings an honesty and vulnerability to Peña’s character as he navigates his own struggles. Whether it be his wife Lucy (Jaina Lee Ortiz) having fertility issues, post-war stress or an eagerness to play by the rules in a world that wouldn’t deign to acknowledge his presence, Hernandez delivers the nuances and insecurities of Peña with a deft hand.  

To put it best, Marin’s character Pollo gives Peña the best advice when it comes to the inequalities and unfairness of life by using a golf analogy: play it as it lies. Life is not meant to be fair or understanding, but that does not mean that the fight is not over. Circumstances can change everything, a new path can be forged. And for the members of that 1955 team, their fight to the top opened a whole new path in Del Rio, Texas: the ability to be something more than just their heritage or economic standing.