Category Archives: Latino Culture

2020, Abandoned child, Abduction, Acceptable for teenagers, Acceptable Trash, Action sequences, Addiction, Adopted child, Aliens from outer space, Anti-Immigration, Bisexual theme, Brother-Brother relations, Brother-Sister relations, Conspiracy, Cooking and food, Corny, Dancing, Drugs, Father-daughter relations, Flashbacks, Friendship, Gay theme, Government cover-up, Government medical experiment, Immigrants, Incomplete ending, Latino Culture, Lesbian Theme, Love Story, Love Triangle, Melodrama, Mental Illness, Mildly Suspenseful, Mildly Violent, Missing Person, Mother-daughter relations, Mother-son relations, Murder, Netflix Streaming, Nice Aliens, Occasionaly violent, Racial Prejudice, Romance, Sci-Fi, Sister-sister relations, Strange Ending, Unusual ending

Roswell (2020)

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From IMDB:

Centers on a town where aliens with unearthly abilities live undercover among humans. But when a violent attack points to a greater alien presence, the politics of fear and hatred threaten to expose them.

From Netflix;

A decade after the death of her sister, Liz reluctantly returns to her small hometown and reconnects with her teenage crush Max.

From Netflix you can stream 2 seasons of this sci-fi soap opera. Each season consists of 13 episodes, each episode usually lasting exactly 42 minutes (think of the film cutting involved!)

Ignore the seemingly serious thumb print summaries above. Nothing about this pseudo sci-fi love fest should be taken seriously. Rather the point is to just relax and enjoy the corny and acceptable trash.

As far as the virtually unknown actors let us briefly note that Nathan Parsons (who plays Max Evans) is Australian and that Jeanine Mason (who plays Liz Ortecho)  won Season 5 of FOX’s “So You Think You Can Dance” and earned the title of America’s Favorite Dancer. So much for fame!

If there is anything serious about this fun time-waster, it is the theme of the problems faced by illegal immigrants. In this respect the story is often political. Border agents are painted as racist bullies.  And there there are the fairly common difficulties of drug addiction.  Finally let us not overlook the prominent gay theme.

Because season 2 ends so abruptly,  the series demands another season.

I LOVE TRASH!

2019, Acceptable for teenagers, Bad Acting, Barely Acceptable Trash, Beautiful Seaside Town, Blackmail, Bloody scenes, Career Competition, Chick Flick, Child Molestation, Contract Killing, Contract Maiming, Corny, Corruption, Dancing, Detective, Drama, Drug Dealers, Drugs, Eccentric cast of characters, Ends in Cliff Hanger, Ethical struggles, False Imprisonment, Family Conflict, Fist Fight, Frame someone for a crime, Friendship, Gangs, Gay Bashing, Gay theme, Improbable details, Latino Culture, Love Story, Male Prostitutes, Mediocre, Melodrama, Mental Illness, Mother-son relations, Motorcycles, Murder, Murder Investigation, Must suspend disbelief, Netflix Streaming, Nudity, Personal Betrayal, Plot twists, Police Corruption, Police cover-up, Police Politics, Rape, Revenge, Ridiculous plot, Soap Opera, Sometimes seems silly, Somewhat trashy, Spanish, Telenovela, Uncle-Nephew relations, Unjust crime conviction, Various Romances, Violent

Toy Boy (2019)

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From Netflix:

A stripper sets out to prove his innocence for a crime he didn’t commit and was unjustly incarcerated for seven years earlier.

From Netflix you can stream the 13 episodes (each episode about 70 minutes) of this Spanish telenovela.  Many spoken languages and caption languages are available.

Spanish telenovelas inhabit a world of their own.  Chief among their attributes are “corny”, “amateurish”,  and “sometimes really stupid.” So why on earth did I watch this unintentionally laughable marathon? Netflix seemed to promote this series, so I started. Injustice and villains always get me going.  Because I have to see justice done I just keep plodding along to the end.

Before you waste your time let me list some of the “features” of this charmer:

  •  You might enjoy listening to the original Spanish (as in Spain, not Latin America) sound track. You might want Spanish captions. At the very least it could possibly be a learning experience although there are better options.
  •  Each tension point is almost immediately resolved so you don’t have to get all worked up.  Sometimes those immediate solutions seem far fetched or just too convenient.
  • Recall that telenovelas for all their involvement with sex are really very chaste.   Certainly the endless number of male stripper dance sequences are as innocent as they are boring.
  •  Warning: From the very last scene, it is obvious that there will probably be another season or even 100 more seasons. Possibilities are endless.

You can do much better, but in a certain sense the whole production is a hoot!

2013, Based on a Book, Catholic culture, Drama, Latino Culture, Spanish, Violent

Bless Me, Ultima (2013)

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From Netflix:

In a village in New Mexico, the life of young farm boy Antonio is dramatically changed when an old medicine woman joins his household. This affecting coming-of-age tale recounts Antonio’s experiences to reveal the spiritual conflict in his community.

“Bendíceme, Última” is a book written originally in English by Rudolfo Anaya. Wikipedia offers an extensive discussion of this film.

Because I had read the book years ago I suspected that watching the film might be boring. If you let yourself immerse in the period, the culture, and the language, you might find this film a charming experience.

There was much superstition, belief in witches, and misinformation mixed in with the Mexican Catholic culture in that place and era. Superstition always surprises and disappoints me. However, if you read much history you come to see how prevalent superstition has been throughout the ages. Let us not forget the Salem witch trials.

From Netflix I got a copy of this film which offered choices in sound track and subtitles. Whether a purchased copy offers the same choices I do not know. In any case I chose Spanish sound track and subtitles and was really happy with the result. For anyone interested in Spanish, this version offers a very approachable and easily understood spoken Spanish. As is almost always the case the spoken and written scripts are very close but not exactly the same.

One other similar film that comes to mind is “Like Water For Chocolate”.

Consider this style of film “sui generis”. Hopefully you will enjoy it as much as I did.

2009, Drama, Explicit sex, Gay theme, Latino Culture, Nudity, Religious Theme, Spanish

Undertow (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Writer-director Javier Fuentes-León sets this offbeat romantic ghost story on the rough-hewn but gorgeous Peruvian coast, where a married fisherman must come to terms with his love for another man, despite the strict moral codes of his homeland. This winner of the World Cinema Audience Award: Dramatic at Sundance is a vivid examination of the ways in which affairs of the heart supersede social strictures and all other forms of logic.

NetFlix’s summary more or less says it all. What make this film (in Spanish with subtitles) worthwhile are its authenticity, good-acting, realistic personal dilemma, and beautiful surroundings.

In theory the village is conservative Catholic. Some cultural practices are at odds with Catholicism. For example, the villagers believe that if the enshrouded corpse is not carried in procession to the ocean and then dumped from a boat and thus buried in the water, then that soul cannot rest in peace. It is this practice that causes trouble for the husband Miguel.

And yes, it is the first gay ghost film I have ever seen. In this respect it reminds me of the Brazilian film “Dona Flor and her Two Husbands” (one of whom was a ghost).

Expect some gay and straight explicit sex scenes.

2006, Based on true facts, Conspiracy, Could Be Hard To Watch, Cynical, Grim, Kidnapping, Latino Culture, Political statement, Rape, Serial Killer, Sex Scenes, Suspense, Violent

Bordertown (2006)

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From NetFlix:

Nearly 400 women have been murdered in the border town of Juarez, Mexico, since 1993, prompting newspaper reporter Lauren Fredericks (Jennifer Lopez) to investigate and unearth a startling cover-up by the local authorities. With the help of a colleague (Antonio Banderas), Lauren helps the only survivor find the courage to tell her story. Director Gregory Nava weaves a dramatic narrative against the backdrop of shocking true events.

Before you get all riled up after seeing this film, you should read the Wikipedia article in the sections entitled “Background” and “Critical Response”. To summarize their ideas: basically it is true that many Mexican women are raped, tortured, and murdered in Juarez. It is not clear that NAFTA has to take all the blame.

So what if critics panned the film ? From my Spanish teacher Joaquín (from Mexico) I have learned enough about to Mexico to understand just how corrupt and dangerous a place it is. Moreover, despite the film’s faults, there was more than enough suspense to keep me interested.

Perhaps some faults are preachiness and a really unnecessary and out of place sex scene between Lopez and an almost random Mexican factory owner.

Whether you see the film or not, above all else do NOT visit Mexico.

1985, Conspiracy, Could Be Sad, Docudrama, Drama, Latino Culture, Not Feel Good, Spanish, Torture, Violent

The Official Story (1985)

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From NetFlix:

Argentinean schoolteacher Alicia (Norma Aleandro) is forced to question her government’s official story of the “Dirty War” of the 1970s when she suspects that her adopted daughter, Gaby, may be the child of a murdered political prisoner. But her quest for truth takes a heavy toll on her relationship with her conservative husband (Héctor Alterio). This wrenching historical drama won the Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986.

To appreciate this film it might help to read the Economist’s obituary of Emilio Massera.

Nothing brings history to life more than a film that puts us in contact with that period of history. Spain and consequently Latin America have a long history of bloody conflicts between liberals and conservatives. As a horrific example we have the “Dirty War” of the 1970s in Argentina. Massera was convicted of murder and torture in 1985, the same year in which this film was made. So making this film in 1985 must have taken some courage. In part of the film you see the Mothers of the Plaza de Mayo marching. They started to march in 1977. The founder of the Mothers was put in a concentration camp. She and two others were “disappeared”.

Both husband and wife characters are excellent actors. She represents the comfortable upper class women who prefer to understand nothing of politics. He represents the conservatives who hated liberals and thought nothing of murdering supposedly liberal mothers (many were innocent bystanders) and then adopting their orphans. Their marriage and the sadness that ensues is a metaphor for the division in Argentina.

There is no actual rape or torture shown. Rather the wife’s lifelong girl friend relates how she was tortured and raped by the conservative Argentinian Naval officers.

The scene in which Alicia goes to (Catholic) confession shows the hypocritical complicity of the Catholic hierarchy who were for the most part conservative supporters of the “Dirty War”. You can read about the role of the Argentinian Catholic hierarchy in the “Dirty War”.

Spanish with subtitles. Note the absence of “s” in the Argentinian accent.

2009, Could Be Hard To Watch, Drama, Gangs, Grim, Latino Culture, Rape, Revenge, Spanish, Violent

Sin Nombre (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Fleeing retaliation from the violent Central American street gang he has deserted, young hood Casper (Édgar Flores) boards a northbound train, where he takes refuge on top of the moving freight cars and hopes for a fresh start in a new country. Dodging authorities and other dangers, he finds a new friend in Sayra (Paulina Gaitan), a Honduran girl also making a run for the American border. Cary Fukunaga directs this foreign-language thriller.

In Spanish with subtitles, this grim tale of the desperate desire to escape a hopeless life in the poor, gang-ruled parts of Mexico makes for some difficult watching. You can read about the plot in the
Wikipedia article. I had hoped that article would confirm that the film is an accurate portrayal of life in parts of Mexico. Unfortunately the only quote of note from this article was the following:

The film was shot in Torreón, Coahuila, Mexico. Several of the extras used in the film were actual migrants. Fukunaga said of working with them, “I didn’t have to tell them anything – they know how to sit on top of a train.”

Someone once defined “morality” for me as “that which you must do to receive the approbation of those around you”. Keep this in mind while you watch the behavior of the gang members.

2009, Drama, Gangs, Gay theme, Latino Culture, Love Story, Redemption, Sex Scenes, Violent

La Mission (2009)

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From NetFlix:

Ultra-macho ex-con Che Rivera (Benjamin Bratt) learns the true meaning of being a father when he discovers his son (Jeremy Ray Valdez) is gay. Rivera turns violent at first, but when a beautiful neighbor (Erika Alexander) helps him see through his anger, he begins to reconcile his long-held beliefs. Peter Bratt (Benjamin’s brother) writes and directs this compelling drama, while Max Rosenak and Talisa Soto co-star.

Being gay in the macho latino culture is especially difficult. Peter Bratt’s story brings to life a part of that latino culture in Los Angeles which was for me a revelation. For example, a weekend ritual of Che and his friends is a slow parade of restored and exuberantely decorated automobiles which ends with a large outdoor gathering of friends for dancing and talking. Che is especially adept at restoring cars and has been working on a special auto for years as a way of encouraging his bright son to work hard in school. This son is the most important thing in the life of his widowed dad. To suddenly discover that this boy is gay (especially in a macho culture) might well destroy the father’s world.

Actually the real theme of the film is the prevalence of violence in this culture: husbands commonly beat their wives, men fight alot, teenagers are drawn to gang violence and guns, etc.

Benjamin Bratt is perhaps better known to us in 95 episodes of “Law and Order” as Detective Rey Curtis. He does an excellent job in this film.