This indie drama deals with new immigrants to the U.S., but at its core it's a story of survival. It's difficult to be new anywhere, but what if you had two kids, didn't speak the language and didn't know anyone? Could you make it? How would you do it? This story from the directing/writing team of Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza looks at what one mother did.
Mariana (Mendoza) moves from Colombia to New York City with her two kids, 10-year-old Gabi (Sebastian Villada) and six-year-old Andrea (Laura Montana), to reunite with their husband and father Antonio (Andres Munar, CHE). But his life changes too abruptly when they arrive; he's been use to the single life. Soon he tells them that he must move to Miami for a job and will send for them later. Mariana is set to fend for herself after being in a new country for six days. Antonio never calls; he just disappears.
Her husband left her with two children and about 50 bucks. She needs to make money. A restaurant manager wants her phone number just in case he decides to fire someone. She tries to sell empanadas on the street for a $1, but there are few customers. When she tries to get a day job, she is rejected because she has her kids. She notices people collecting recyclables out of the trash and follows a homeless man named Joe (Anthony Chisholm, BELOVED) to where you turn them in.
The story takes place over the course of their first summer in America. Lingering problems dumped on them by Antonio keep piling up, making it increasingly more difficult to get ahead. But Mariana makes due the best she can. As any great parent, she sacrifices for her kids paying for them to go to the movies, while she is barely eating. Gabi is as resourceful as his mother, but the harsh reality of their life in this strange new world weighs heavy on his young shoulders. He wants to be a kid, not spend all day collecting cans to end up sleeping on cardboard in an overpass.
La Morte and Mendoza based the film on a true story and it feels like a tale from experience. Mendoza is a powerful performer in how she knows that stillness can be more gripping than big shows of emotion. La Morte and Mendoza auditioned hundreds of kids for the roles of Gabi and Andrea and they found two naturals in Villada and Montana. The three of them together feel like a family. The film rightly isn't all about sadness and struggle. There's a touching moment when Andrea asks her mother if she's mad at her, because she hasn't been funny for days. From that moment on, Mariana tries to bring lightness to their lives no matter what the situation. It's just one of the small details that make this film feel real.
This film has no message about immigration. In many respects it highlights the classic notion of the American Dream, a woman with nothing eventually finds a better life for her and her kids through sheer determination. But of course the film has a hint of the changing America. Mariana only speaks Spanish, but don't assume her legal status. In this story it makes not a bit of difference.
Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks
