Quinceañera: Echo Park

No one is perfect and this film may have its flaws but what a realistic and refreshing look at LA! The young actors do a great job, portraying their characters genuinely -- no trickery, no exaggeration. The film-makers successfully depict the Echo Park area, with its people and its traditions as well as the new challenges facing the populations of Metropolitan LA. It is indeed good to see Los Angeles in a new light, with its culturally rich neighborhoods that tend to be either forgotten or ill-represented by mainstream Hollywood films. My personal pleasure: finally a film with actors that look like and speak like the characters they embody! The Spanish spoken is correct and accents are credible! Definitely recommend it.

Although it wasn't a first pick, I was able to get the time slot I wanted at Sundance to view this film. We were so impressed with the film that it was almost a post viewing panic session that we could have missed a film this awesome just because it didn't have any "big names" in it. Jesse Garcia is the next "big name" in Hollywood! Keep your eyes on this guy. His portrayal of a gay Hispanic gang member just blows all stereo types out of the water. Chalo González is a national treasure, and outshines the entire cast as Uncle Thomas. Emily Rios is also a great find, and really does a great job in her first big role. Listening to the writers/directors in person detailing their own experience of moving to Echo Park California, and witnessing the gentrification of the area which inspired the film, made this screening even more sweet. The only flaw that I could find was that I wanted to see more of Magdalena's family, and thought those relationships could have been fleshed out more to better understand why they did the things to her that they did. The entire cast was so approachable after the screening and Q&A, that it made me want to go out and do all their PR work for free! Glatzer and Westmoreland said to look for this film on HBO, so hopefully that will be the case really soon for the general public. Catch it if you can; it's worth the time.

A slice of life from a very recognizable other planet. The Echo Park section of Los Angeles. It could be so many other places and at the same time it couldn't be anywhere else. New life and death co-mingling in almost perfect harmony. Love coming out of the most unexpected quarters, heroic gestures, prejudice and solitude. There is much to commend in this tiny tale with major implications. Two directors with a compassionate look and real affection. For me, personally, meant the introduction to a major talent: Jesse Garcia. He plays a character that seems to walk a permanent tight rope and yet he is so completely himself that you can't take your eyes of the guy because you know for certain he is going to surprise you in the best possible way. Excellent.

I just had the pleasure of catching this lovely gem QUINCEANERA (aka: Echo Park, L.A. in Europe) and I absolutely adored it. It was so refreshing to see a movie about Mexican Americans that wasn't all about gang violence and drugs. This is a lovely and insightful film about family, tradition and life as a Latino in Los Angeles, California. This film deals with a lot of issues from homosexuality, teen pregnancy, family, racism... without ever seeming preachy or forced. The acting by the two leads is some of the finest I've seen in a while and I'm a movie addict. And just when you think the film is about to stumble into the world of cliché it's lifted to an even higher level of beauty and realism. I don' know what else to say without giving away too much other than see this film and you won't be disappointed. This is by far one of the best and most rewarding films I've seen so far this year and that's saying a lot from a guy that sees way too many movies. See this movie and tell your friends about it because they don't make enough movies like this and this kind of art needs our support.

In Echo Park, Los Angeles, the teenager Eileen May Garcia (Alicia Sixtos) has a dream fifteen years old party. Her cousin Magdalena (Emily Rios) is fourteen years old and will be the next in the family to celebrate the "Quinceañera". However, her father is the local preacher and security guard and cannot afford and expensive party and Magdalena will wear her cousin's dress and dreams on arriving in a limousine like Eileen did. However, her dreams are shattered when she finds that she is pregnant of her boyfriend Herman (J.R. Cruz), in spite of being virgin. Her father expels her from her home and she moves to the house of her uncle Tomas Alvarez (Chalo González), who lodges his troublemaker gay nephew Carlos (Jesse Garcia) in his house, and the trio raises family bonds.

"Quinceañera" is the evidence that it is possible to make a great movie with a very low-budget, supported by excellent screenplay and performance. The enlightened character Tomas that survives selling "champarraro" is one of the most beautiful I have recently seen. My vote is eight.

Title (Brazil): "Meus Quinze Anos" ("My Fifteen Years")