My Family (1995)

Director:

Gregory Nava

Writers (WGA):

Gregory Nava (written by) &
Anna Thomas (written by)

Release Date:

3 May 1995 (USA)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

Three generations of dreams.

Plot:

Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose...

Plot Keywords:

Marriage | 1920s | Brother Sister Relationship | Coming Of Age | Father Son Relationship

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar. Another 3 wins & 4 nominations

Cast

Edward James Olmos	...	Paco
Rafael Cortés	...	Roberto (as Rafael Cortes)
Ivette Reina	...	Trini
Amelia Zapata	...	Roberto's Girlfriend
Jacob Vargas	...	Young Jose
Emilio Del Haro	...	Oxcart Driver
Abel Woolrich	...	Oxcart Driver
León Singer	...	El Californio (as Leon Singer)
Rosalee Mayeux	...	Maria's Employer
Jennifer Lopez	...	Young Maria
Alicia del Lago	...	Maria's Aunt
Thomas Rosales Jr.	...	The Boatman (as Thomas Rosales)
Anthony Gonzalez	...	Baby Paco
Michael Gonzalez	...	Little Paco
Esai Morales	...	Chucho

Also Known As:

Cafe con leche
East L.A. (UK) (video title)
My Family, Mi Familia

MPAA:

Rated R for strong language, some graphic violence and a scene of sexuality.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS-Stereo | DTS

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Argentina:13 | Chile:14 | Hong Kong:IIB | South Korea:15 | Spain:13 | UK:15 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Agoura Hills, California, USA

Company:

American Playhouse

Trivia:

The final scene is duplicated shot-for-shot from the final scene of Apur Sansar (1959).

Goofs:

Continuity: When Isabella is at the Sanchez home, we see a medium shot of Paco with a bowl of popcorn, and Memo. In front of them is a tray of taquitos. But a minute or two later, Irene brings out the same tray and sets it down on the coffee table in front of them.

Quotes:

Paco: Cihuateteo. That's what my mother called them. The souls of women who had died giving birth. They became Cihuateteo, the spirits who helped the sun to set. Without Cihuateteo, the sun would not be able to rest.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in Be Kind Rewind (2008)

Soundtrack:

Que rico el mambo

A very clichéd film, but also very entertaining.

I did not expect to enjoy this film as much as I did. From what it sounded like, it was another drama about how a family struggles to stay together, and it was, but it was a very entertaining one. The movie follows various members of a family around through the years 1926 to 1980. I'd almost classify this as an anthology because of many different story lines based around various members of the family. The first story is Jose Sanchez's struggle to get in to the United States, and how he met Maria (when younger played by Jennifer Lopez). The second story, set 25 years later, is about daughter Irene's wedding and son Chucho's gang life. The third story, set another 20 years later, is about son Jimmy and when he gets out of prison, gets married, has a son, goes back in prison and tries to make up with his 5 year old estranged son raised by his grandparents. I wouldn't say that this is Acadamy Award material but it is still a very compelling story that had me wanting to know more about the family as the stories progressed.

My rating: *** out of ****. 122 mins. R for a scene of violence, sex, language.