Entre nos

A mother and her two children move from Columbia to join up with the father in New York. The father abandons them. The mother and children are left alone to struggle and find a way to survive. Simply put, this is the plot of Paola Mendoza's and Gloria La Morte's Entre Nos. Of course, it's not quite that simple. The set design, the costumes that our characters wear, the lighting, and, most importantly the acting renders the film from being just another melodramatic flick to a genuine narrative of a three real people—Mariana, Gabriel, and Andrea—who seek to merely survive and thrive as all people do. As the film begins, there is music and there is food. The characters are in good spirits, for Mariana, Gabriel, Andrea, and Antonio have come together. The scene shows a sense of solidarity amongst the family. As a viewer it causes you to ask, what are they celebrating?" Soon enough, you discover that although this is a time of warm and cheerful feelings, it also proves to be the family's "last supper" together as the father— Antonio—abandons them shortly after. So, to answer the question: the farewell to a deadbeat father and disloyal husband is what they celebrate, ironically. Mendoza uses lighting in this dinner scene that is soft and not overly bright. The warmness is conveyed by the array of green, red, and orange colors adorned by the vegetables. The characters' attires bear these hues as well, and this is meant to symbolize the vivacity of this atmosphere. The music is melodic, it has a steady and "upbeat" tempo to it—the Latin salsa semblance it bears points to perhaps the joy and happiness the characters had in their native Columbia. With this tragic event, Mendoza and Morte demonstrate the overwhelming power that men have over the family. For instance, we see that Antonio's decision to leave his family brings forth disastrous consequences for his wife and children. They suffer emotionally and physically: Mariana weeps along with her children night and day for the emptiness in their hearts that they yearn to be filled. Additionally, they starve to the point where they become emaciated in appearance. They have to roam in the streets to beg for food, looking weathered and withered. So that is to say, they cannot support themselves alone without a man, at least not without tremendous effort. Interestingly, during this period, the interior life is now dark and dank. There is no feeling of coziness like there was at the beginning of the film. In fact, there is few furniture and few things to do. To contrast, the outer world is brighter; there is somewhat more cheer in the streets. As the protagonists collect cans through rubbish dumps and sell empanadas, they interact with Americans by speaking their native Spanish speckled with some English. And this implies the duality of their personalities: they are both Columbian and American. The use of both languages shows their attempt to assimilate. Furthermore, the music at this point marks a moment of reflection and thought for our main characters and also shows them in motion, highlighting their upward progression. All the same, behind the foil of a worthless man the directors emphasize the strength of women. Mariana epitomizes the loving and nurturing nature of a mother: She works diligently to satisfy the demands of her children, she makes sacrifice after sacrifice to see to it that her children are happy. At the same time, she manages to keep a smile before them despite the fact that the world around her is cold and judgmental. The park scene where Mariana weeps quietly with her children sleeping on her lap expresses this notion so well. She had been aborted by society. She suffers miserably, having to fend for her children. Worse yet, because she is poor and appears dirty people ascribe negative things to her and her children. However, Mariana draws strength from her children. Their future and its success motivate her to keep going. She reminds me of the character, Tita, from the novel Como Agua Para Chocolate; for she, too, struggles to maintain and get to where she's going. Most of all, for both women the obstacles they face come from societal origins. Something comes in between them and their hopes and aspirations. For Tita this is represented in her mother who keeps her from love and the pleasures of marriage and for Mariana this is her inability to be understood because of linguistic, financial and cultural barriers. Entre Nos tell us that a family isn't necessarily constituted by a blood-affiliated group. Rather, it is a group who respect one another and struggle together to overcome the challenges. We as a society are a huge family. Yet what stands "between us" is our misunderstandings of one another. Our tendency to prejudge one another renders us incapable of seeing eye to eye on things and prevents us from working together for our own benefit. This is the amazing message behind the movie and for this reason I recommend it without any objections.

From the trying streets of Queens, New York, Entre Nos, captivates the compassion of an immigrant family struggling to make it in America. The complexity of the modern issues of immigration becomes real, as the lives of mother Mariana and her two children (Gabi and Andrea,) unravel into poverty. Through the use of a strong storyline, directors Gloria La Morte and Paola Mendoza, create a cold world for the most needing hands.

As the storyline progresses and the role of each character becomes evident, the stunning performances of the actors is heart wrenching. Mariana's conviction to caring for her two children is stunning. At an age where giving up seems to be the easier route, she holds on to them with every ounce of her soul. Through her struggle of dialogue with the world around her, Marian's efforts to find work are nothing short of painful.

The particular ability of Gabi and Andrea to perform such important roles at their age is simply impressive. As the times get worse for their family, their clear a deliverance of emotion entitles them awe. Gabi assuming the job of the man of the family in such a mature manner brings about very heavy emotions. Standing guard over his mother and sister on their first night on the streets, the audience can feel the power of direction.

It is the modern American tale. It is the story of the dream, from the ground up. The truth behind how the world can beat you down and the drive to stand back up again. Offering hope to hold on, Entre Nos is a film deserving of praise.

The film Entre Nos is an amazing portrayal of the love of a real family. In the film Mariana is left by her husband, with her two children after being in America for only a few weeks. The film shows the struggles the family faces, until they are back on their feet. The lighting, music, and camera angles make a large effect on the film. The emotion you feel as an audience and the love of a family are very important aspects of Entre Nos. This film shows the audience a side of life they many have never seen.

Entre Nos is a film with very little dialog, so most of the story is told through emotions. To enhance the emotion, lighting, camera angles, and music are very important. Most of the lighting during the film is dark, indicating how unsafe or unhappy the time is for the family. Throughout the film the camera often zooms into Mariana's face showing the tears welling in or eyes or the sickness coming across her face. The camera often starts in close then zooms out. I think the close camera angles allow you as a viewer to really look at Mariana and make and emotion connection with her. Lastly, the music playing throughout the film is a director indicator of the overlying feeling during a specific scene. These three factors made the movie great and were a main reason the film was successful in connecting with the audience.

The title Entre Nos means between us. The film was written, directed, and starred in by Columbian, Paola Mendoza. I think the "between us" is the relationship between the movie and the audience. I believe the film was created to show Americans the life of illegal citizens trying to make it in America. Mendoza connects with the audience through emotion. With little dialog the audience must pay attention closely to the nonverbal cues the actors make. Mariana does not cry often throughout the film, but you see the anguish on her face and disappointment for letting her family become this way. Mendoza draws her audience in through her wonderful characters.

The greatest part of the film is the love you see from the family. Through all of the struggles and hardships they never give. I believe Mariana shows what a real mother is like and although they are not living the good life, they portray the true love of a family. Never once did Mariana give up hope. I think the affection she shows to her children throughout the whole movie shows that hope is never lost.

Entre Nos is an amazing film that shows the real part of life. Although at times it was almost uncomfortable to watch, the film made me think of issues that have previously never crossed my mind. I loved the emotion it made me feel and the connections I made with the characters. Entre Nos was an unexpected success in my book!

I am a judge for the Indianapolis-based Heartland Film Festival. This feature film is a Crystal Heart Award Winner and is eligible to be the Grand Prize Winner in October of 2009. The Heartland Film Festival is a non-profit that honors Truly Moving Pictures. A Truly Moving Picture "…explores the human journey by artistically expressing hope and respect for the positive values of life."

A Latino mother and her two children are stranded in Queens when their philandering, irresponsible father deserts them. There English is almost nil and now they must support themselves asap. First the wife tries selling homemade Espanadas on the street. Then she tries getting day labor by standing on Latino labor street corners. And finally ends up collecting cans for their deposits with her young son and daughter beside her. They are barely making it when they get evicted from their apartment. And then they become homeless and have to sleep outdoors.

What keeps them going under these awful circumstances? Their closeness and love for each other sees them through these difficult times. Also,they are helped by sympathetic strangers who see their heart-wrenching plight.

Through it all they never lose their dignity or morality. They always act honorably and treat others with respect. Their sacrifices and courage and desperate situation make them more appealing as time goes on. The viewer is filled with admiration for what the human spirit can endure and still not be broken.

The story is wonderfully told. It is realistic and understated and believable. You are often moved deeply as the story unfolds.

FYI – There is a Truly Moving Pictures web site where there is a listing of past Truly Moving Picture Award winners that are now either at the theater or available on video.

Overly sentimental, poorly written and acted, an infamous stereotype of a naive poor latina who refuses to learn two words in english and speaks spanish to all the locals, a passive accumulation of misfortunes, a constant soft guitar and piano soundtrack over mechanical and manipulative events, a sudden and detached outcome... mediocre, uninteresting, unbearably soft film-making. It lightly scratches the surface of the human drama and adds absolutely nothing to the issue, other than clichés and common places.

This is a terrible movie, so dreadful that the short running time feels like an eternity. The scarce lifting moments are painfully lame and powerless, as dreadful as everything else. Paola Mendoza´s acting is just bad and the fact she´s turning this script into a novel makes me think the worse. I´d rather watch "El Norte" over and over. This is the worst film about immigration I´ve ever seen. It might even be the only bad one since the nature of the issue is so important it usually allows movies to be relevant on all levels. "Entre Nos" is a complete failure with a shameless presumptuous title.