The Blue Diner (2001)

Eager to become a businesswoman, an immigrant from Puerto Rico tries to adjust to life in the United States.

Director:

Jan Egleson

Writers:

Jan Egleson (screenplay), Jan Egleson (story)

Stars:

Miriam Colon, Lisa Vidal, Jose Yenque

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Miriam Colon	...	Meche (as Miriam Colón)
Lisa Vidal	...	Elena
Jose Yenque	...	Tito
William Marquez	...	Papo
Virginia Rambal	...	Vika
Jack Mulcahy	...	Brian
Jamie Tirelli	...	Héctor
Fidel Vicioso	...	Patricio
Edouard DeSoto	...	Singer in Club
Gustave Johnson	...	Museum security guard
Teresa Yenque	...	Dog casket shopper
René Sánchez	...	Don Benito
Chuck Brinig	...	Theo
Ken Cheeseman	...	Banker
Lonnie Farmer	...	Lawyer

Storyline

On her 26th birthday, Elena suffers an anomaly: she loses her ability to speak Spanish. It happens during a late-night argument with her mother, the janitor at a Boston museum, over several family issues: Elena's missing father (gone since she was a young child) and her feeling caught between two men, a Latin artist named Tito, who has no Green Card, and her Irish-American boss, Brian. What explains the loss of her native tongue? Does it matter within the larger challenges of finding her father, choosing between men, and reconciling with her mother? Some answers may come at the Blue Diner, where Papo, the Cuban proprietor, serves up brains and a special pepper.

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Plot Keywords:

spanish | immigrant | puerto rican american | mother daughter relationship | marriage engagement | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for some sensuality

Did You Know?

Trivia

Used excess film stock from the production of James Cameron's Titanic (1997).

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Soundtracks

Manuela
Written by Claudio Ragazzi
Performed by Alex Alvear and Claudio Ragazzi
Published by C.R. Music

User Reviews

"The Blue Diner" is one wonderful film.

I just had the privilege of seeing "The Blue Diner" in a Rhode Island film festival last night and was treated to one of the warmest surprises of the year. It sported terrific performances from fresh faces, about characters you really cared for. An engaging script was complemented by very colorful cinematography, soothing music, a collection of reflective "insert" scenes and a number of subtleties that really worked well together. Although "The Blue Diner" was billed as a Latino film, it was much more than that. It was a family movie, a community film and a relationship movie all in one. While very different in style and content, it was reminiscent of the surprise movie of 1963: "Lilies of The Field". Standing ovations were clearly in order with kudos to Lisa Vidal, Miriam Colon, Joes Yenque (of the just released "Traffic"), and of course William Marquez (who played the Padre in "the Mask Of Zorro"). In addition, I had the opportunity to meet Natatcha Estabenez and Jan Egleson (both of whom wrote, directed and produced this work) in a Q&A following last night's showing. Both explained how difficult it is to get an independent movie to the viewing public these days. That said, this is a quality effort, and these are people you really want to root for. Hope this one makes it to national distribution....if it does, DON'T MISS IT!!! If it doesn't.... what a shame!!!

Details

Official Sites:

Blue Diner Project

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

8 April 2001 (USA)

Also Known As:

La Fonda azul

Filming Locations:

Massachusetts, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), Goldheart Pictures, Latino Public Broadcasting

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color