American Visa

I enjoyed watching this film. It is mixture of characters and story-line that, at times, doesn't merge too well. Demian Bichir plays a father that wishes to travel to the USA to see his son, but also to stay there and work. Kate Del Castillo plays the hooker-pole-dancer with the heart of gold who loves her country, Bolivia, in spite of the poverty. One can see on this film, the potential for better roles in the English language for her, like Trade and Under the Same Moon (Bajo la misma Luna). The corruption and the description of the "gringos" in this film is greatly exaggerated, but it will play well with the core audiences. I recommend the film because of its entertainment value. It has good acting, good music and great visuals, to go with a decent story line, if one does not pay too much attention to details.

Yes, it is one of the best Bolivian movies from latest years among "La Nación Clandestina" (The clandestine nation) and "Cuestión De Fe" (A matter of faith)... The subject is simple, yet honest: how does a humble English professor tries to get an American Visa... it seems to be that living out of his own but hopeless country is a better option. Narration is full of details and scenes that speak by themselves. So, I think it's a quite realistic portrait of nowadays' life in Latin America, and also of the way a lot of Latin American people think, focusing in some particularities of Bolivian society. It's worth to see it, specially because it holds a neutral and somehow natural point of view of the chaos surrounding the main character, a quality that ain't normally achieved in Latin movies. Even the "cholitas" acting as extras are perfectly placed in the narration. It doesn't seem a bad election to me that the main characters were Mexican, in fact, they do have an excellent performance, and that's enough reason for them to be there. The silly scenes? To me, some pink romantic scenes, although a lot of pals liked them.

I liked this movie, I haven't seen many national films, but the ones I've seen haven't been very good or real. This one on the other hand, I believe, reflects very well reality. I've been there... asking for an American Visa and even though I only wanted to visit the country I did feel like they were treating me as a criminal, and I know many stories of people who are desperate for getting a Visa. The actors did a very good job, and I appreciate the effort they put into the accents even though they weren't perfect. It was a simple storyline, but sometimes that works in movies. The characters were very believable and it was easy to relate to them.

I honestly don't see many bolivian movies 'couse they have a bad marketing campaign. This one called my attention since I've heard many good comments about the photography. The script is easy going, no big complications a story like many others in this country. It's refreshing seeing Damian Bichir playing the role of a bolivian (he even got many of the expressions we use around here) and it's even more surprising watch Kate del Castillo talking in a "camba" accent, some times it's quite hard for her to keep it...but being a Mexican and now talking as a "camba"...good work.

It has a front critic to our political system and the way we are manipulated by the north country. I'm proud the sound, the image and the story of this film are much much better than the last bolivian movie I've seen "El Atraco".

(2006) American Visa (In Mexico with English subtitles) DRAMA/ THRILLER

Adapted from the novel by Co-produced, co-written and directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia Low budget and another strictly by the book film about ordinary Mexican man leaving his teaching days behind to live in the United States where his already grown up son's been living assuming that he could slip through the cracks through immigration and the officials put a harder stance on Mexican visitors since others may have tried a similar tactic and doesn't realize it forcing him to resort to doing something illegal. The politics and the system regarding people who want to go past the border is interesting but everything else is nothing new.