Yellow Rose

This is an important film about immigration, music, and the variety of ways we all try to become the people we want to be. While the acting can come off as a bit stiff with writing that is a little too superficial and full of tropes, the music of Eva Noblezada and Dale Watson, along with a critical story about the struggles of being undocumented and chasing your own dreams, make this very much worth a view!

"Yellow Rose" is such a touching and beautiful piece that narrates the story of identity, family, and following your dreams against all odds. Helmed by Diane Paragas, the film goes through the journey of Eva Noblezada as Rose, a talented, young Filipina immigrant living for the purpose of being able to shortly become a country music star. It's a movie that is both a testament to resilience and belonging's cumbersomeness; it's set against all of the vibrant music scenes in Texas. Noblezada is soulful, supported by powerful work from Lea Salonga as her protective aunt and by country musician Dale Watson. Threaded with sincere storytelling, "Yellow Rose" makes the musical score evocative, alive after the credits roll, casting a new light on the American dream and on the power of music to bridge cultures.

Greetings again from the darkness. Immigration and the plight of undocumented workers is as relevant now as it has ever been. Writer-director Diane Paragas and co-writers Andy Bienen, Annie J Howell, and Celena Cipriaso have expanded Ms. Paragas' 2017 short film of the same name into her first feature length project. Although it covers some familiar topics, the film has a distinct look and feel to it ... the vision of an interesting new filmmaker as she provides a glimpse at the struggles and challenges facing undocumented folks, both young and older.

Eva Noblezaba stars as Rose Garcia, a 17 year old undocumented Filipino living in the outskirts of Austin in the hotel where her widowed mother (also undocumented) cleans rooms. This is Ms. Noblezaba's first film, and she's best known for playing Kim in the stage production of "Miss Saigon". Here, she's the teenage daughter of a very protective mother, and she spends her time trying to fit in at school, while also jotting down Country Music song lyrics in her Townes Van Zandt notebook, and strumming the battered guitar her late father gave her. Rose professes no interest in singing her songs for others, but that and everything else changes in one eventful night.

Elliott (Liam Booth), a friend in her class and an admirer of hers, invites her for night out in Austin at the Broken Spoke, "the last of the true Texas Dance Halls", where Austin Country Music icon Dale Watson is performing. An underage Rose over drinks, but also catches the performing "bug", and loves everything about the honkytonk atmosphere. The youngsters return to the motel just as ICE (Immigration and Custom Enforcement) is finishing up a raid, and are taking Rose's mother (Princess Punzalan) into custody. Rose's mother instructs her to seek shelter with her Aunt Gail.

Gail (Tony winner Leah Salonga) lives in an upscale Austin neighborhood - quite the contrast to the life Rose and her mother have been living. Gail is sympathetic to Rose's plight, but Gail's husband doesn't want to get mixed up with harboring an illegal. So Rose recognizes that she's unwanted and seeks refuge with Jolene (Libby Villari), the owner of Broken Spoke (Ms. Villari gives an excellent performance, though it should be noted that the infamous James White is the real life owner of the iconic dance hall). Jolene offers Rose a bed in a back room of the club, something a great many Austinites would pay handsomely for (maybe it should be an AirBnB!).

Dale Watson turns into a reluctant mentor for Rose, and the two write songs and perform together. Mr. Watson is a natural playing the on screen version of himself. There is a lot going on here, as this teenager from the Philippines proves she is strong-willed in both pursuing assistance for her mother, and in following her Country Music dream ... all while maneuvering through the obstacles of being undocumented. There is inherent racism in the film's title (Rose's nickname at school), but director Paragas never allows politics to override Rose's personal story.

Finally, a film that legitimately makes you feel good without burying you in sugar. Rose (newcomer Eva Noblezada) in soulfully good Yellow Rose is a 17-year-old Filipina from rural Texas whose motel-maid mom Priscilla (Princess Punzalen) is about the be a guest of ICE, making Rose a figurative orphan without any backup.

Hidden in Rose's beautiful spirit is a hankering to sing country music although she first needs to sing for others, not just herself. After she avoids ICE herself, she meets some kind folk who will not only help her have a place to live but also give her a chance to sing.

The strength of this music/drama is that nothing is easy and nothing comes soon enough. When she meets real singer Dale Watson (a white-haired accomplished singer before the camera and in the vibrant world of honky-tonk Texas night life), her epiphany slowly begins.

However, in between meeting Dale, writing a song for him, and singing her first composition in front of a pleasant Dale-centered crowd, Rose has to struggle with mom's wish for her to come to Manila and her own sense of home already in Texas. The film is strong because it doesn't amplify the realities and the sentiment; it just lets Rose find her way on her own.

In a way, Jessie Buckley's Rose-Lynn in Wild Rose as a Grand 'Ol aspirant mirrors Rose in Yellow, only with more flamboyant songs and melodrama. Both films draw you in to the characters because of the actors' charm and talent. Yellow Rose has less music and conflict than Wild Rose but a sweeter take on the heroine's ambition: Although Rose barely registers on the emotion meter, her underlying passion is undeniable.

In Yellow Rose the music is sweet and low, especially when Dale sings (He steals the shot every time-now that's charisma). Like this gentle drama, Rose bubbles up to the top and stays with you like a simple country song.

I just screened this movie at the 2019 San Diego Asian Film Festival to a packed house! The audience, although made up of many with a Filipino background - was still quite diverse with other ethnic backgrounds.

This movie depicted what many undocumented families are facing in America today. We don't quite often hear of the Filipino experience, so this was very eye opening and emotional, as our fellow neighbors/friends may be going through this personally and we may not be aware.

Once this movie is widely released, I encourage you to bring your family and friends to watch! This is such a relevant story! Kudos to the director for bringing Filipino perspectives to the big screen. Filipinos are not only great singers or produce beauty queens, but they have Important stories to tell, especially in this film with a fantastic cinematic debut by Eva Noblezada and backed by the supporting actors and a great soundtrack!