Tudo por um Sonho

Marisa Tomei is wonderful! There is a scene it which she is kneeling down in the water just as her boat arrives at Key West which is as sexy with cloth9ing as anything nude I've ever seen. ALfred Molina is great as the confused political prisoner.

The story begins as Alfred Molina sends his family off to America during a crackdown of the Cuban Communists. The former dictator Batista was very kind to capitalists. The country appeared to flourish but there was much poverty. Fidel Castro came to power and many of his political opponents were jailed or killed.

Marisa Tomei is a young worker in the sugar cane fields. News was difficult to come by there. When she gets to the U.S. she doesn't even know that John Wayne has died. (One of her great desires is to have sex with him)

Late in his administration President Carter declared an open door policy to anyone that was able to escape Cuba. As a result, Castro cleared his jails and hospitals of many criminals and insane people. It is in the midst of THIS that Marisa and Alfred meet. He as a released political prisoner trying to find the family he'd already sent to America years earlier, she as a poor worker trying to get to a better life. In the confusion of the long line at immigration and in order to get placed with a sponsor more quickly she claims him as her husband and an old man as her father in law.

For those of us who's families have been here long enough that we don't remember immigration this movie is a great reminder of why so many people have wanted to come here over the years.

You really can't go wrong with this...I bought it on recommendation of a friend and watch it a couple of times a year. It is among my personal top 10.

We didn't expect much from this rental that we had never heard of but ended up being delighted. Marisa Tomei was an absolute delight. Angelica Houston was different than we have ever seen her and looked very attractive. Very, very good movie with a little bit of everything you could want. Marisa Tomei was wonderful.

I can't begin to describe the truly exotic and sensual feeling behind "The Perez Family." The direction was at it's best starring top stars like Marisa Tomei, Angelica Huston, & Alfred Molina, and a great supporting cast including Chazz Palminteri, Trini Alvarado, & Celia Cruz.

It's the story on a family trying to move to the land of the free, America, in the 1980's. But upon departing, the father is arrested and must let the family go. Years later when he is released, he climbs on board and heads to the U.S. hoping to find his family. On the way there he meets a sexy woman that slowly changes his life. Upon arrival in the states, Miami seems to be a much bigger place than he imagined and hopes of finding his family seems a lot harder than expected. It's romantic, sensual, and funny & if you believe in fairy tales, this movie is made for you. Go ask your local video store if they carry it and if its in there, get it! You're going to love it, trust me!

When President Carter declared an open door policy to anyone who wanted to escape Cuba and come to America, Castro used this to clear his jails of criminals and political prisoners. When Juan Raul Perez gets on the boat he hopes his wife will be there to meet him, as she fled to the US decades ago. When she doesn't come he ends up in the camp with everyone else, including the feisty Dorita Evita Perez. The two need a sponsor to get out of the camp and realise that things would be easier if they were a family. For that reason they pretend to be married and gradually start putting their fake family in place.

I was drawn to this film by the cast list and in fairness I should have spotted that this film about Cubans had very few Cuban or even Latino actors in it. Anyway, aside from that the plot has historical context but I am not familiar enough with it to say if it was accurate or not, although I really don't think it matters very much. The film tries to fizzle with Latin spirit while at the same time delivering a rather convoluted romantic drama of sorts. It partly works but the writing isn't great and the film failed to really engage me as it just seemed a little forced as if it had been a good idea once but had had so many knobs added to it that it got a little daffy. After an hour it settles into the formulaic mould it was in all along, the historical context forgotten and the clichés allowed to flow. If you can't see where this is going then I salute your ability to blindly accept what is given to you.

Talking of clichés, the casting of so few Hispanic/Cuban/Latino actors was a mystery to me. Surely it would have been possible to get closer than Italian, which is what quite a few of the main characters appear to be. Tomei was the name that drew me to this film but in turns her role is good and bad. She has an important role and it was necessary for her to be feisty etc but she overdoes it a little bit - hammy up her Latin cliché at the start for all she is worth; she gets better though. Molina is another strange choice but he does well in his role and carries some dignity through the film - it's not his fault that the script gets silly in trying to keep him and Huston apart. Huston is OK but her subplot seems added on to make the ending more palatable to the audience (god forbid anyone should be hurt). For this same reason, Palminteri is wasted. Cruz is good and Chowdhry is quite funny, but why Gallo even bothered is beyond me - pre-fame I suppose. SNL's Cleghorne plays a cop and, in the spirit of ethnic clichés, pushes the `oh-no-she-didn't' eye-rolling, `talk to the hand', neck moving black character for all she is worth - when she does it as a joke it is OK but here it just felt like laziness - especially for such a minor character.

Overall, any Hollywood film with Latinos/Cubans/Hispanics in it is going to force the rhythm for all it is worth and here is no different. It starts out boasting historical context and spice, falls into a rather convoluted series of plot twists that end up taking the film down a rom-com road to a solution that, although badly delivered, unthinkable and out-of-nowhere, was obvious from about 30 minutes into the film.

I love this movie. I remember I was seeing a play "Ragtime" and I wondered if an immigration movie/play existed that was not incredibly depressing and then I remembered "The Perez Family".

It's like that excercise where a shrink tells the husband to pretend he's interested in sex with his wife and then it the feelings actually occur. Here they pretend to be a family to get through immigration and then they actually do begin to care for one another and be like a true family.

I also loved how it could get a little surealistic at moments. For example when they first arrive in the Oragebowl and Juan fears they're gonna be shot and then they are suddenly surrounded by a laughing crowd. Or the moment Juan sees his wife kissing the cop and as he crushes the photo we see a red stain appear over his heart. That was so subtle I only caught it with repeated vewings. The soundtrach even is simpally amazing. And yes Marisa Tomei has never been hotter! ;-)

I also loved a lot of the minor roles such as the Indian immigration official who clearly realizes what's going on and clearly doesn't care. I loved that little sarcastic eyeroll he does when he talks about, "Cowboys . . . and Indians!"

Overall it's just such a sweet heartwarming film which is such a change from the usual "the more depressing the more deep and artistic" immigration film. Sure some of it was pretty silly, coincidental, and over the top but "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" wasn't?