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One of the best things I've seen Andy Garcia do and it proves how versatile an actor he is. A great story about two people - one older and out of luck on many levels, and the other young and smarter than her years but alone and desperate for human contact. Each at odds with their circumstances, they come together thanks to the fearless young girl, and they bounce off each other like oil and vinegar. "Ana" (Dafne Keen) who's inexperienced view of life flips from one crazy notion to another makes you want to hug her and slap her in equal proportions. Rafa (Andy Garcia) suffering from bouts of Angina, does his best but his health is an issue and he keeps getting bested by the girl's erratic and irrepressible moods and actions. At times exasperating, her off the wall spontaneity throws him frequent curves. He goes from one sharp intake of breath to another as he tries to cope with her behaviour. He owes his bookie a deal of cash which puts extra stress on his dodgy heart adding pressure he can well do without! Sooner of later the issue must be faced with an outcome which could affect them both. There is an uneasy bond between them but for Rafa time is running out and his desperation to avoid his loan shark's threats is somewhat hopeless.....

Lots of greenery, beautiful houses n the fascinating blowhole. The film is about a salesman n a young kid n how the kid helps the man n teaches him to hustle. The film is listed as a comedy but there is no humor. The end scene of the blowhole is a bit far fetched.

There are some very bad movies out there and Ana or "The Guardian" is not one of them. The story is slight and the running time feels about 20 minutes over. It's not quite a comedy. The humour is spare and dark, playing more like drama for the most part with elements of South American magical realism.

Dafne Keen and Andy Garcia are cast perfectly, with an on-screen chemistry and individual performances that's are a real joy to watch. Garcia is perfectly sad, understated and beaten, while Keen is a chaotic bundle of innocence and guile. The movie rollicks along when the two of them are together in the same space (and begins to drag a little when they are not). The cinematography and shots of Puerto Rico are beautiful, from the broken slums to the lush jungle. There are several strands competing but this is, at heart, a road movie of sorts. At its best, it reminded me of Paper Moon.

This is so much more than a "5".

Other people have described the story enough if you decide to watch it. It'll be more enoyable if you know less about it. I'll just say this: there are a few minor plots hole, and some of the scenes aren't that well thought out, but overall it's a fun film, very intellegent and enjoyable. And it's well made and acted. I think I'll watch it again at the weekend when my girlfriend is around.

My wife and I enjoyed this smaller movie, we watched it at home on DVD from our public library. Garcia is in fine form as the used car salesman and young Keen is just perfect as the 11-yr-old whose mom can stay out of jail.

Jeanne Tripplehorn comes in more towards the latter stages, as Pastor Helen who is glad to use the young girl's "healing" to run a money-raising scam to illegally finance the election of a local politician.

The movie is a fun watch, they get into some interesting situations. This is much different from the bigger blockbuster movies and that is a welcome change of pace.

(maybe for showing the opposite rich-poor, which is not Hollywood PC, I dunno)

which made me think, it must be really bad - but I was wrong.

First the movie deserves really a 6.3 - 6.6, but a 7+ for family/light entertainment, feel-good and overall being very watchable, not demanding. It is nice, sweet, funny in a subtle way, which can't be said of so many movies nowadays. It's in the tradition of buddy movies with 2 very different characters, like 'The Green Book' or 'The Intouchables' (but certainly hasn't the originality or production values).

Andy Garcia seems not feel like playing anymore gangsters or bad guys, while the girl from 'His Dark Materials' almost steals the show, she may have quite a career ahead.

This film is not special, no superheroes, action or tricks here, but it has its own charm and I liked it.

Your Experienced Movie Watcher

It is a predictable, mostly dull, small road trip movie with the occasional warm fuzzy in which you pretty much know where it's going to end up. But, with its Puerto Rico scenography, little bits of social & political commentary (against the church) and two relatively solid main characters with nice chemistry (Andy Garcia & Dafne Keen) movie is watchable. Garcia as character for me is pretty undeveloped, while the script needs some more ... punch. The second half speeds up a little bit, but introduces a weird subplot, trades realism for quirky (pit scene) and feels less meaningful. That is why at the end of film there was no real emotional resonance. Basically, movie started with the promise of more, but ended with an identity crisis while the execution made it like weekend TV afternoon movie vibe all over it.

Rating: 5+/6-

Rafa Rodriguez (Andy Garcia) runs a struggling used car lot in post-storm Puerto Rico. He finds Ana (Dafne Keen) had broken into one of his cars. With her mother in prison, Ana is alone. His cars get repo and he makes a bad bet. He needs to pay in 5 days. As he grows frustrated, he tries to leave Ana with Pastor Helen (Jeanne Tripplehorn).

I love the two leads and I love the locations. I'm eager to go on a road trip with them. I'm going with this movie until the car gets stolen. It would have been fun for them to steal it back. That's the best move. Then there is the church. I like her wheeling down the aisle. That's a fun scene but the repeated showings don't make sense. Wouldn't some parishioners keep coming back? And wouldn't those repeat customers notice that it's the same girl every time? There is always a performative aspect to the proceedings but one would expect that such trickery would be called out eventually. The money part is too muddled morally and the movie wraps it all up too neatly with a bow in the closing text. It's unsatisfying. I still like the chemistry between Garcia and the girl. I like the church much less.

If you're after a fun film, without the OTT action or dumb slapstick profane comedy which blights much of Hollywood's recent output, then this is worthy of consideration.

Good chemistry between the leads, and interesting to see that it's the street smart Ana that comes up with most of the money-making activities/attempts the pair embark on.

Some of the negative reviews seem to stem from the films portrayal of the church organisation the pair encounter, but it makes clear that the activities are those of the individuals involved who see faith as a business above anything else.

Better than the ratings imply

All the ingredients are here for what could (should?) be an outstanding comedy-drama. Andy Garcia needs no introduction; Dafne Keen roared into the spotlight with her breakout performance in 2017's 'Logan.' There's a strong supporting cast on hand, including not least Lauren Vélez and Jeanne Tripplehorn. The setting (Puerto Rico in the wake of Hurricane Maria) is sadly all too perfect, the sights and sounds of the island as a filming location are welcome, and the scenario is ripe for storytelling and noteworthy themes in the background. Charles McDougall shows a firm technical grasp of the medium as director; Cris Cole's screenplay is sincere and heartfelt, with definite cleverness sprinkled throughout. And still, with all this potential, 'Ana' struggles to actually feel genuine and meaningful. It's not completely terrible, but the most consistent feeling I had while watching was a recognition of contrivance. This could have been a great movie, but instead I don't know if it even rises above "average."

The title character is elevated as a quirky, precocious, free-spirited young girl without any inhibitions or sense of boundaries. I suppose this is fine in and of itself, but the character is written with such a forthright sense of "Just go for it!" that every illustration of these traits comes off as forced and false. Based on 'Logan' alone I adore Keen, but it feels like she was cast here simply in defiance of the image that's been projected onto her, and while it's not her fault, she has a hard time making the material pop. Garcia seems to be straining with all his might to inhabit Rafael and earnestly bring his part to life. Every step along the duo's path, no matter how honest or far flung, wholehearted or bombastic, seems grossly inauthentic, like a modern day rendition of Winston Groom's novel 'Forrest Gump' - a series of misadventures smashed together with the dual ethos of "Yes, we're doing this" and "why not?" without any real weight behind it. 'Ana' is filled to the brim with content and possibilities, so why does it feel so empty?

There are moments scattered throughout when Keen is simply brilliant, or Garcia is, or they demonstrate magnetic, delightful chemistry as scene partners. There are sparks of true wit in Cole's writing. This is well made from a technical standpoint, including Sonnel Velázquez's cinematography. There are also moments when it seems like everyone involved is just phoning in their contributions, and are in no way invested in their own feature, or others that are plainly overcooked or far too On The Nose. Some scenes of intended gravity let us really feel it; many outright fail to, to my absolute chagrin. The picture is also extraordinarily brisk in its pacing, never particularly letting us catch our breath; the first twenty minutes alone are a veritable whirlwind, and 'Ana' never lets up thereafter. Being so rushed, leaping from this to that, it's kind of astounding that any beat at all, any inclusion, is able to stick the landing and make the slightest impression. This film might have been a roller coaster, being in turn wonderfully uplifting or woefully downtrodden, and that's how the writing comes across in the broad strokes. In its details, however, and in the execution, these 105 minutes just blithely coast along.

As if all this weren't enough, the movie has extreme difficulty ever achieving anything resembling the right tone; it feels downright confused. It is exceedingly rare - countable on one hand - when the comedy or the drama strikes just the right chord. Those themes that the narrative dabbles with (hypocrisy, fraud, desperation, redemption, family, whatever) are realized not with total fidelity, but instead more as at best warped facsimiles. To be frank, I'm sad and disappointed. It's not that this is altogether awful, and I think everyone on hand gave freely of themselves to bring the story to life, to try to let this be the compelling saga it could be. The end result, however - even with astonishingly infrequent blips of value - is so limp, uneven, and unconvincing that it somehow feels worse than it would have were the picture just poorly made in the first place; 1 hour and 45 minutes have rarely felt so long. I wish nothing but the best for McDougall, Cole, Garcia, and all others involved; I look forward to seeing what Keen delivers in the future. Unfortunately, 'Ana' isn't even half the movie it may have been, and even if one is a major fan of Garcia, Keen, or others on hand, I'd just be lying if I offered this as a recommendation. Whatever it is you're hoping to get out of this, there are other titles you should be watching instead, or perhaps rewatching.

Just like another user reviewed, it's a joy to see Andy Garcia and Dafne Keen acting, so, yeah, ignore the low score and watch it if you want to have a laugh. Some reviewers got a problem with humor here, but I am grateful another review made me watch this movie and I liked it a lot.

"Ok this is not a really good movie but still worthy to watch, some camera work are weird, some scene are kind a weird too, for the acting kinda in the middle sometimes good sometimes bad, now the story is very very out of concept , the ending for me is like outta nowhere, they just use the alternative story that very unexpected, like in the beginning the movie tell that they have to work hard to get this money but in the end they just put a simple ending, kinda disappointed but still fun to watch"

Beautiful story and so natural for the acting of the little girl and killer charming god father. An hour and 45 minutes but enjoy every minute.

It's easy to watch straightforward, and quite realistic as well.

Completely unbelievable, goofy tongue in cheek parody of Relgion and Puero RICO. Not much here!

What an odd movie. Had no idea what I was getting myself in for here but it had some recognisable names attached so we gave it a go. Like the characters the movie portrays, it seemed a bit aimless.

Travelogue of Puerto Rico? Perhaps, but it didn't leave me with any desire to go there. Quite the opposite. It showed a country in economic and moral collapse. Comedy? Nothing funny here. Yet it wasn't gritty enough to make it compelling drama either. Showed the underbelly of society and finishes off with an expose of crooked religion and corrupt politicians but then wrapped it up in a mismatched buddy road movie.

I'm never one to say that was two hours of my life I won't get back, but it may have dragged on a little long. Some scenes and character's actions were inexplicable and only seemed to be thrown in to carry the movie along. For instance, in one scene the girl runs away from the car. She is chased by her carer who almost gets beat up by a gang after they misinterpret his actions. He returns to the car to find it's been stolen and now in a chop shop. The girl had returned to the car and was still in it when it was carjacked. Why did she run away in the first place?!

Funnily, the end of the movie explains that the bad guys got their comeuppance and the good guys did alright, as if we had just watched a true story. I think the director was trying to imitate Hitchcock who always felt it was his moral duty to explain that crime doesn't pay. Made it all feel sort of feel good but it didn't really sit right.

Basically, it's not the worst movie you'll ever see, and it's sure not the best. If there's nothing else to watch, fine.

Not a good reference to God and it was trying to teach this young girl morality,NOT.

Pay no attention to the detractors of this visual dose of morality in a world that destroys not elevates good humans. This gem of a film will share its world and humanity like no other I've seen in a long time. Andy Garcia portrays a disillusioned car dealer and Ana comes into his life like an escaped angel from heaven's realms...but she's no angel...at least not the two dimensional type. In fact all the characters are complex creatures formed by an unforgiving environment. Here's what you'll enjoy: the real Puerto Rico and its warm tough down and out inhabitants surviving corruption drugs and hurricanes...along with the fakes who have given up on humanity; amazing performances led by by Garcia and Keen; an exploration of the psyche of a child scared of adults but eternally willing to live and help. See this pearl of a film. It's a movie to talk about afterward.

Started to watch this because I've enjoyed Andy Garcia's performances in various roles and was wondering what he was up to. The writing could have been tighter but the outstanding performance of the actress who played Ana (Dafne Keen), Andy Garcia's acting chops, the solid cinematography and good editing made this a very enjoyable film experience. I also liked the location of Puerto Rico I have never been there don't know much about the island and after viewing this I'm surprised that there's not more content being filmed there. I suppose there's so many stories and characters unique to the island which would enrich the screen.

This is a nice film. Great act, great chemistry between Rafa and Ana. And we can see beautiful scenery of Puerto Rico. Maybe the 'Comedy' genre is little bit misleading. I found some laugh here and there though, but the writing dynamic was obviously toward drama. The ending was also delightful and warm my heart. SHOW ME SOME HUSTLE! 😆

Dafne Keen and Andy Garcia absolutely killed it in their performances, and I don't mean acting-wise, yes they acted well, but most importantly they were so funny on it, Dafne Keen is hilarious in this. The movie did not work that well on a emotional level to me, but it is a great comedy. Really weird seeing such low rating for such good comedy, especially with all the crap out there getting high ratings. This movie is not about the plot but the interaction and delivery of the actors. So yeah ignore the low score and watch it if you want to laugh.

Be realistic. We all have different taste in flicks. This film has no nudity, blood and guts, f bombs, infidelity. No, its not Hallmark, but I don't like them. It has some honest/dishonest features. Its just a fictional story thats was entertaining and easy to enjoy the characters personalities. The fact that a stranger actually cared about the well being of a young girl made the movie heartwarming and sparked curiosity how it will end. I loved how Ana's eyes spoke more than her words!