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12.20.202207.20.2010 | By Karen Posada |
Rated: Not available
Release Date: 2009-04-25
Starring: Gloria La Morte, Paola Mendoza
Director(s):
Distributor:
Film Genre:
Country:USA
Official Website: http://www.entrenosfilm.com/
If this moving story would have been more developed and the ending wouldn’t have been rushed it would be worth watching. When the filmmaker Paola Mendoza told us that the movie was made in only 18 days this explained why it was so short and felt so rushed. The emotional connection is very strong, this could have taken it farther and it would be a better film that I could recommend.
The protagonist and producer Paola Mendoza plays a convincing role, she is a woman who suffers a lot because she is married to a man that’s worthless, he can’t settle anywhere. They’ve lived in Bogotá, Medellín, the coast of Colombia, and after only living two weeks in New York City he decides to move to Miami and leave his family behind. Mariana (Mendoza) tries all sorts of things for her family to have a good future and to follow her husband to Miami, she tries selling empanadas, washing dishes, but nothing works as well as recycling cans; this is the only way she can work and be with her children at the same time. Her children Gabriel (Sebastian Villada) 10 years old and Andrea (Laura Montana) 6 years old, take their mother’s work as a game and have fun recycling. Thanks to her children Mariana is able to surpass some of the hardest moments of her life. They are her strength. Gabriel understands a lot of what’s going on and when they are kicked out of her apartment for not paying the rent he goes and works recycling by himself when he’s able, to help his mom; as a kid sometimes he’s rebellious and gives her headaches but he has good intentions.
Some of the strongest points in this movie is the family connection, it shows how far we can get if we have the support of our family even if it’s only made up of three people. Gabriel’s behavior melts anyone’s heart, although he wants to study and play he understands that helping his mom is more important. The kindness of strangers is another strong point that is shown, a woman who rents out rooms (Sarita Coudhury) who feels pity for Mariana offers her friendship and support to her when she needs it the most.
Since this story is based in Paola Mendoza’s mom real life and her own it has a lot of real elements. These elements work well and create an honest environment full of harshness with which many can identify with. Unfortunately these elements are not squeezed to its greatest to create a movie that leaves you with something. As the other producer said Gloria La Morte, they wanted to make a film that would show the real side of New York City, that wouldn’t glamorize the american dream. This was accomplished until a certain point. The rushed ending ruins the rhythm of the movie and it’s essence in itself, because suddenly it becomes a fairy tale and from one moment to the next everything is ok and they are not poor anymore and we suddenly arrive to a summery of their lives up to adulthood without a warning.