America 101 (2005)

Two Mexican brothers get smuggled over the border to try and find their "America Dream".

Director:

Mark A. Russell

Writers:

Mark A. Russell, Michael Wasserman

Stars:

Miguel Castro, Richard Azurdia, Christine Carlo

1 win.

Cast

Credited cast:
Miguel Castro	...	Angel
Richard Azurdia	...	Carlos
Christine Carlo	...	Maria
Gerald Brodin	...	Cowboy Jack
Jordi Caballero	...	El Coyote
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kris Bies	...	Larissa
Jonathan Cherry	...	Not-so-homeless student
Rafael Feldman	...	Ricardo (as Raphael Feldman)
Yan Feldman	...	Romeo
Matthew Henerson	...	Hotel Manager
Rob Hyland	...	Border Patrolman
Harimander Singh Khalsa	...	Rambunctious American / Laborer (as Michael Cashore)
Allen Maldonado	...	Train Station Agent
Rafaela Martinez	...	Espinosa Mother
Trinidad 'Zeus' Nizelli	...	Low Rider

Storyline

Two brothers leave their home in Mexico in search of the 'American Dream', only to realize it was in front of them all the time. Angel is tired of living in his small Mexican town and has no interest in following in his father's footsteps. Instead he resolves to run away, across to cross the border and find his American dream. His older brother, Carlos, has plans of his own and they don't involve leaving home. When Angel tells his older brother of his grand scheme Carlos knows he won't be able to stop him, so he decides to tag along in order to watch over his headstrong little brother. Double-crossed by a smuggler, they find themselves alone in the desert. What follows is a strange and hilarious adventure filled with crazy characters and eye-opening truths until they finally realize the dream they were chasing was back home where they started.

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Plot Keywords:

mexican | arizona desert | mexican immigrant | brother brother relationship | travel | 

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Taglines:

And they thought getting here was tough...

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Genres:

Comedy

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

MySpace site Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

27 February 2005 (USA)

Filming Locations:

Arizona, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fobia Films

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

User Reviews

A comedic tutorial about how to survive a border crossing into southern Arizona, and better yet how to get back to where you came from

This is a story of two very different brothers living in Sonora Mexico helping their family run their local bakery. Angel is the younger brother who has dreams that don't include slaving over an oven all day, he dreams of fast money and the good life which he believes is waiting for him in America. Carlos the older brother is bound by family obligation, doing the right thing, and a girlfriend who is desperate to marry him. Carlos tries to talk Angel out of his crazy dream of going to the states, until he learns via a late night conversation between his parents that the bakery isn't prospering like he thought. Before you know, the two of them are set out for the harsh desert in hope's of making a better life.

It doesn't take long before you are fully engaged with these character's and their story. This movie was smart and funny, it kept you on your toes. These are character's that you can't help but care about, which is all I ask for when I'm watching a film, no matter what the genre.

This was my first experience seeing an independent film in HD, and it just added to the overall experience of this very entertaining film.

Although this movie was light in it's context regarding the very serious issue of boarder crossing, I don't think that the viewer was lost on this issue, and I congratulate the film makers for that.