Luminarias

This movie is a heart-warming story about four latina women who value friendship and love. It's a well written story that tells it like it is in dealing with everyday struggles of life. Which makes it so realistic because it touches on relationships,self-identities and self-esteem. The story is so real involving interracial relationships, dealing with discrimination and trying to find themselves all in one. It's a must see movie for all people who like drama,love and laughter. Guaranteed for all women to enjoy as well as men.

I found Luminarias to be an amazing movie for teaching about interracial relationships, stereotyping, white privilege, and the impact of (post)colonization. The film allows for discussion of how everyone stereotypes. The stereotyping in this film is not just engaged in by the Latina actresses. I must admit, it can perpetuate stereotypes of Latinas/os, but not if it is taken as intended by the script writers. People who think this film does nothing but perpetuate stereotypes and reflect the stereotyping of Latinas is missing the larger picture. The issues of race, class, gender, discrimination, stereotyping, etc., are all brought to the forefront in a comical way. As a professor, I view this film as an opportunity to build bridges by pointing out the fact that EVERYONE stereotypes. This film is not about Latinas stuck in the days of the Chicano Movement. These are women who were products of the Chicano Movement and who do represent the thoughts and feelings of MANY U.S. born Latinas who identify as Chicanas, in particular those who have had very little exposure to people not of their own ethnic/racial heritages. This is much the same for members of other cultures who do not leave their comfortable zones. Unfortunately, many individuals who are more assimilated and/or who have grown up among members of the dominant U.S. culture (read Whites) tend to view the women as unrealistic and are often offended by the portrals. Of course they would appear this way to people who do not have the same frame of reference (worldviews) as the women depicted. Remember, the women were born and raised in East LA, not in New York, Wisconsin, Florida, Chicago, or the South. Latinos are all over the U.S. and are very diverse. The stories these women tell cannot be generalized to all Latinos or Chicanas for that matter. However, the depictions are relatively real for many Chicanas, born and raised in predominately Chicano communities. What I like the most about the film is the fact that in the end, the women learn about themselves and realize people are people no matter what their cultural/ethnic/racial heritages.

In US there is a large variety of Mexicans, particularly in California. There you find Mexican legal and illegal emigrants, and US citizens of Mexican origin called Chicanos by the Americans or Pochos by the same Mexicans. Chicanos normally speak well Spanish, at least 80% of them, and behave as Mexicans in their way of lives. This film shows the behavior of four Chicano ladies, their dreams, their wishes, always trying to live well as Americans but also dreaming to have a hot lover or husband able to dance and to enjoy as they do. I found this film interesting because many of Latinos are like these ladies and they want to live well but eating tacos and tortillas, drinking tequila and having hot sex with their lovers or husbands, no matter if they are not US citizens. May be the film could have done better technically, but its message was clear to me, but may not be the same for non Latino population.

"Luminarias" tells of four middle-aged, middle class Latina best friends, Mexican-American women, who meet at the title restaurant in L.A. periodically for conversation. Andrea (Frenandez), a lawyer, is the centerpiece of this slice-of-latin-life flick and also the playwright. A mediocre film as films go, "Luminarias" deals with issues of family, ethnicity, romance, and more as it wanders around the genres from sitcom-like comedy to more serious drama, uncertain of its purpose but unabashedly delivering heartfelt entertainment regardless. Should appeal most to Mex-Am females. C

Note - If we can trust the IMDB.com stats, this is a real love it or hate it flick with over 1/4 scoring it a 1 and over 1/4 giving it a 10 and everyone else scattered in between.

Lower your expectations now, Luminarias is about as deep as the typical Hollywood produced romantic comedy. But unlike that mainstream fluff, Luminarias has a beautiful (and sexy) multicultural cast and quite a few fun and atypical romantic couplings: older women and younger men, almost every possible type of interracial relationship, rich women and poor men, and even a random gay relative. The main flaw--at times it seems that the movie is trying a bit too hard to counteract every stereotype in most mainstream romances. Considering how many stereotypes abound in say, a Freddie Prinze Jr movie, that's a lot to make up for in a low-budget film. Bonus points for including a woman-centered sex scene.