The potential spoiler is at the very end and it is impossible to accidentally read.
This movie was a pleasant surprise. I saw the trailer for it a while ago and it stuck with me, so I did some research about it and learned it is the extension of a short film by the writer and director. Of course I found the short film and I liked it. The acting and production value were good but not great in the short, but the story was sound, so I was looking forward to the longer version.
Sometimes when shorts are extended to feature length films they add extraneous plot lines and end up undermining what was great about the original, but this film doesn't suffer from that. It was well written.
This is the kind of movie I crave to see in America, but I rarely get to see because people from communities like Jordin's are rarely portrayed as three dimensional, and their stories are usually extensions of the negative images you can already see in the news. However, their lives are bigger than that, and their lives are no different than the lives portrayed in main stream media. They just unfold differently. So, Mamitas presents a beautiful and realistic version of the boy meets girl story.
Sure it is not a completely original, but it feels refreshing because it is the kind of story that is rarely executed well. The rhythm of this movie felt right. Just about everything unfolded naturally. With the screenplay as tight as this one was, hitting all the narrative marks, the other necessary element to its success was its actors. All of them were excellent especially the leads. The way they moved, spoke and interacted felt real. That is what I loved the most about the movie. The parts felt lived in, nothing was overdone for the sake of drama.
There is probably one moment in the movie I didn't love because I think it is an unnecessary development used too much in the movies. Beyond that I didn't have a problem with anything in the movie. It was excellent and it has definitely made its way on to my list of all time favorite movies.
After writing this review I am going to do some research on these actors to see what else they have been in, but the movie business being what it is I don't anticipate their resumes will be long. However, they are very talented and I hope they have many opportunities. I will be watching out for them especially the actor that portrays Jordin.
******* Spoiler below (This is not really a spoiler, but I will put it aside in case it might affect how someone experiences the movie for the first time. It is regarding the part of the film that I had a little problem with.)
There is a moment in the movie when the two characters kiss which to me felt disingenuous to the characters and story especially since it followed the discovery of some potentially damaging information. Although not dramatic, it reminds me of when characters just spontaneously start having sex literally moments after they escape death or some equally life altering event. I understand how sex or intimacy can follow tragic and life altering events, but I think they are rarely ever aligned well in movies. In this movie it is no different. It didn't ruin the movie for me, but the movie would have been perfect without it. Minor qualm.
This movie was a pleasant surprise. I saw the trailer for it a while ago and it stuck with me, so I did some research about it and learned it is the extension of a short film by the writer and director. Of course I found the short film and I liked it. The acting and production value were good but not great in the short, but the story was sound, so I was looking forward to the longer version.
Sometimes when shorts are extended to feature length films they add extraneous plot lines and end up undermining what was great about the original, but this film doesn't suffer from that. It was well written.
This is the kind of movie I crave to see in America, but I rarely get to see because people from communities like Jordin's are rarely portrayed as three dimensional, and their stories are usually extensions of the negative images you can already see in the news. However, their lives are bigger than that, and their lives are no different than the lives portrayed in main stream media. They just unfold differently. So, Mamitas presents a beautiful and realistic version of the boy meets girl story.
Sure it is not a completely original, but it feels refreshing because it is the kind of story that is rarely executed well. The rhythm of this movie felt right. Just about everything unfolded naturally. With the screenplay as tight as this one was, hitting all the narrative marks, the other necessary element to its success was its actors. All of them were excellent especially the leads. The way they moved, spoke and interacted felt real. That is what I loved the most about the movie. The parts felt lived in, nothing was overdone for the sake of drama.
There is probably one moment in the movie I didn't love because I think it is an unnecessary development used too much in the movies. Beyond that I didn't have a problem with anything in the movie. It was excellent and it has definitely made its way on to my list of all time favorite movies.
After writing this review I am going to do some research on these actors to see what else they have been in, but the movie business being what it is I don't anticipate their resumes will be long. However, they are very talented and I hope they have many opportunities. I will be watching out for them especially the actor that portrays Jordin.
******* Spoiler below (This is not really a spoiler, but I will put it aside in case it might affect how someone experiences the movie for the first time. It is regarding the part of the film that I had a little problem with.)
There is a moment in the movie when the two characters kiss which to me felt disingenuous to the characters and story especially since it followed the discovery of some potentially damaging information. Although not dramatic, it reminds me of when characters just spontaneously start having sex literally moments after they escape death or some equally life altering event. I understand how sex or intimacy can follow tragic and life altering events, but I think they are rarely ever aligned well in movies. In this movie it is no different. It didn't ruin the movie for me, but the movie would have been perfect without it. Minor qualm.