Yellow Rose

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!

Great acting, casting, direction, locations. Everything but an actual story.

"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.

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!

Right, while the concept of the movie somewhat falls short of what I usually sit down to watch, I must admit that the 2019 movie "Yellow Rose" from writer and director Diane Paragas actually turned out to be a rather surprisingly good movie.

Normally I am not one that sits down to watch country-inspired movies, but I will say that the storyline told in "Yellow Rose" was actually a wide-spanning one, so it wasn't just about the country genre. No, this was a story about the bonds of family, being able to follow your heart and dreams and the willingness to take a chance. Actually there were multiple interesting aspects to the storyline, which made for a wholesomely entertaining movie.

"Yellow Rose" has a good ensemble of casted actors and actresses. I can't claim to have been familiar with anyone on the cast list, but they definitely put on great performances. Young actress Eva Noblezada, playing Rose, was really holding her ground and carrying the movie with a very strong and committed performance, one that had emotion and conviction to it. "Yellow Rose" also had a great performance by Dale Watson, playing Dale, as he really added something unique and interesting to the movie. And Princess Punzalan, playing Priscilla Garcia, definitely also put on a good performance, just a shame that she had so limited screen time.

This movie has a good variety of characters and dialogue, and you very easily get dragged into the storyline and forming a connection with the characters, so that was a good accomplishment from the writers.

I will say that the music for this movie was really complimenting the storyline and added a very enjoyable layer to the movie. Now, I am not one that listens to country music at all, but I will say that the movie they had for the movie was well-fitting.

This is definitely a movie that you should take the time to sit down and watch if you find yourself with the chance to do so. I was more than genuinely surprised and entertained by what writer and director Diane Paragas managed to deliver. My rating of "Yellow Rose" lands on a well-deserved six out of ten stars.