My Family
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Movie Reviews of My Family
Movie Review: IT'S ALL ABOUT FAMILIA, THROUGH THICK AND THIN!
Summary: 5 Stars
my family is a breath taking movie. damn, man i mean if you're of the hispanic culture you get my drift, but even if you're not just watch it. take a look and you'll see and understand many things. this movie is one of my favorites, another great potrayel of the mexican family. it's a story told from the eyes of the oldest son. he tells about his families good and bad times in cali. the trials, the journey's, and all his family had to go through. they are, by far, not perfect, but their family and that's what it's all about. you can go through hell and back and as long as you got those around you who love and understand you unconditionally that's all that keeps you up. this film spans for generations, showing their triumphs, and their struggles. where as nothing is ever easy and you have to struggle to have a descent life and just get by. this family who try to teach their children all the good and keep away from the bad, but no matter how hard you try, there's only so much you can do. all grow up together, but at the same time apart. one is ashamed and embarressed by his latino culture, one wants to be a nun and then falls for a priest, and another is a rebel. he's a vato loco, you know. each of the characters has a story, and no matter what they do, it affects the whole family. they face injustice, hardships, and suffering. it's a long story and one that will sure leave and impression on you. it's just a normal family going through tough times, but having no choice but do the best they can to get on with their lives. the whole cast is excellent. they make the movie what it is for real. constance marie, plays tony, she's fabulous. wonderful actress, and you she gives you that chicana vibe strait up. she's always been one of my favorites. edward james olmos, cool cat. good man, and he's done well in all of his films. great actor, and is well recognized. he played it real. esai morales, aka chucho, man this guy is real. he's a bad boy. very talented and perfect for these types of roles. one of the best. and of course we can't forget about jimmy smits, aka jimmy, he's also one of my favorites. he gots that tough guy thing about him, and you can't help but pay attention you know. this role was made for him. out of control tough guy, who has to straiten out for the sake of his son. no more gang life, prison time, or any of that. and he does a great job. i got nothing more to say other than this is a masterpiece in my eyes.Movie Review: One of the best films I've ever seen
Summary: 5 Stars
Even though I just finished watching this movie five minutes ago, it was so moving that I had to write a review ASAP.The story is a timeline piece about a Mexican-American family in California. It starts off with the story of the parents, then their children.
What I really liked about this film is that it was very emotional. In the beginning of the film, which starts of in the 1930's, the mother (played by Jennifer Lopez) is unlawfully sent back to Mexico as an illegal alien. She is actually an American but because of the political/racial situtions during that time, she is not given justice.
She lives with an elderly aunt and vows to travel by foot thousands of miles away to go back to California to be reunited with her husband and two other children. The story could stop there but it doesn't. The film gets really good as we watch the mother walk through deserts, rainy fields, and then almost drowns in a raging river while looking for her baby which has floated away. I've never seen such a struggle of survival displayed on screen like that. Imagine a woman swimming in water while looking for a her baby who may or may not have drowned.Thankfully the baby turns up.
Next we switch to a scene where six elderly Mexican shaman women, situated in surrounded in a dark room filled with candles and pictures of the Virgin Mary, praying over the baby and asking the Spirit of the raging river not to take his life. The mother sits to the side crying and praying for God to spare her child.
Of course much more happens in the film but it's so deep I can't go into detail. Maybe I might write another review later, but I had to express some words about the film now.I'm so glad I saw it and I hope you enjoy it as well.
Movie Review: Long movie that holds your attention all the way through
Summary: 5 Stars
I looked at the length of the DVD and thought "this had better be good." It was.
I am generally wary of family or individual biography movies, as in my experience, they tend to be episodic and lacking in the coherence of more conventional dramas -- by which I mean, they typically consist of a series of episodes but no clear plot line. That was less the case for this movie than for other family/individual dramas, perhaps because pretty much the same group of people were in the film throughout, and there was an overriding theme or point -- about the immigrant experience, particularly for Mexican-Americans.
The story involves a young Mexican man, Jose, who is forced to leave the poverty of Mexico (in the late 20s?) to find family and work. He walks all the way to Los Angeles -- the border at this time is just a line in the ground, as he says -- where he has the name of someone who is possibly a relative. This man happily takes him in, and Jose gets a job as a landscaper working for wealthy Anglos. He falls in love, marries, and has a family. A series of tragedies and triumphs follow, involving this man, his wife, and each of their children. By the end of the movie, Jose is an old man, assessing his life as good. I would say that the theme of this movie is life in a Mexican-American family, reflecting both traditional values and customs as well as the problems of assimilation and cultural identity.
Maybe it was just me, but I couldn't seem to get English subtitles to the Spanish to work. Consequently, there was some dialogue that I just guessed at, although most of the film was actually in English, although there was quite a bit of mumbling, so the ENglish subtitles helped.
Movie Review: Powerful Movie
Summary: 5 Stars
I first saw this movie in 1995 when it was first released in theaters. Nine years later, the movie still has the same effect as it did when I first saw it. Although my experiences and my family's experiences are not identical to the ones experienced by the Sanchez family, there are similarities, and I'm sure many other Mexican-Americans can identify with the small things that make this movie so good.What makes this movie so good is that the director, Gregory Nava, captures the nuances that many Mexican-Americans can relate to. 'Crossing the Bridges,' as Edward James Olmos explains, is something that the patriarch of the family must do when he goes to work on the other side of downtown LA. What's so strange is that many people continue to cross those bridges every day of their lives (literally and figuratively).
Little things like this as well as Chucho's pride in having the best creased pants, the mother's passion for her 'novelas,' and Jimmy Smits' hard personality really give this movie a feeling of familiarity. I also like the fact that Memo goes to UCLA.
The casting is good, and it's weird to see Jennifer Lopez in small roles like this before her rise to stardom. While the movie may not identically reflect the experiences of every Mexican-American, it will be hard not to see some parallels.
Movie Review: Great film centering on the importance of family
Summary: 5 Stars
I admit I didn't have much confidence in this movie at first, when Jennifer Lopez was the actress who played the mother. However, things began to pick up, and the theme of the story began to appear in numerous events. The relationship between the characters is intricately acted out, especially between the bonds of parents and children. Each member of the family is unique; there's Chucho with his rebellious nature, Memo with his desire to fit in and "succeed", Toni with her political endeavors, Irene with her family and restaurant, Jimmy, who is misunderstood by most, and Paco, the eldest son and narrator, who aspires to become a writer. The mother keeps this family together with her strength and love, and the "jefe" seems strict and unyielding at first, but throughout the movie, the audience can see that he really cares about his family. Following the different characters' eventful and sometimes difficult lives, one sees the importance of identity and family.