Someone Else's America (1995)

This tale take place in a bar. The Spanish Alonso and his blind mother run this place. Bay, who is Alonso's friend live here too. This story tells something about Alonso and Bay and the "... See full summary »

Director:

Goran Paskaljevic

Writers:

Gordan Mihic, Mary Popovic (english dialogue),

Stars:

Tom Conti, Predrag Manojlovic, María Casares

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Tom Conti	...	Alonso
Predrag Manojlovic	...	Bayo (as Miki Manojlovic)
María Casares	...	Alonso's Mother
Zorka Manojlovic	...	Bayo's Mother
Sergej Trifunovic	...	Lukas
José Ramón Rosario	...	Panchito
Lanny Flaherty	...	Guide
Mihalis Giannatos	...	Greek Agent (as Michalis Yannatos)
Michael Willis	...	Foreman
Predrag Ejdus	...	Doctor
Chia-Ching Niu	...	Chinese Girl
Andjela Stojkovic	...	Savka
Lazar Kalmic	...	Pepo
Ananda Ellis	...	Afisi
John Norman Thomas	...	Afisi's Brother

Storyline

This tale take place in a bar. The Spanish Alonso and his blind mother run this place. Bay, who is Alonso's friend live here too. This story tells something about Alonso and Bay and the "American Dream".

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Plot Keywords:

american dream | blind mother | friend | bar | illegal immigrant | 

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Taglines:

Two friends, two worlds, one dream.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language and brief sexuality

Details

Country:

Federal Republic of Yugoslavia UK France Germany Greece

Language:

Serbian English

Release Date:

10 May 1996 (USA)

Also Known As:

I Ameriki kapoiou allou

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, European Co-production Fund, Intrinsica Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the end of the movie as the family are loading the car to drive to San Francisco, the track for the camera is visible in the reflection on the car door and side.

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Quotes

Bayo: Did I ever tell you the story of my people? We no surrender.

User Reviews

The movie doesn't quite coalesce

The magic realism intent of the finale is spoilt by poor optical work, and in general the movie is a catalogue of good ideas indifferently executed, or undermined by an affinity for hammy acting, boisterous comedy (the bantering between Conti and Manojlovic gets tiresome quite early on), and a disappointingly straightforward style - the whole thing looks overwhelmed by compromise. It comes close to so many things though - potentially acting as a kaleidoscope on the complex possibilities of America and the vast cultural compromise (in parts both sweeping and subtle) that's required of the immigrant: the eldest son effortlessly becomes an entrepreneur (portrayed with a cold-lipped hard-edge to him that can't help but distance us); Conti achieves the thinnest illusion of success; Manojlovic remains in the past, defiantly clutching his rooster (typical of his experience in the New World, when he obtains an egg in order to provide the rooster a chicken, it hatches into another rooster) and mourning his son who died in crossing from Mexico; others find a self-deluding equilibrium between past and present; but the ultimate arrival-point of old Granny shows all steps are possible. It's a great theme and a great title, worthy of a film of astonishing range and potency, but that's not achieved here - maybe the logistical challenge of making this all coalesce was just too ambitious for a director who's himself a stranger to America.