Luminarias

Rating:
Summary: Provocative Cinema About Successful Latinas...
Review: ....four beautiful, successful, (did I say beautiful?) Latin ladies struggle with life and love in modern day L.A. One of the few movies mostly written, produced and directed by Latin Americans for english speaking viewers. There's zip in the intial discussions Andrea have with her lawyer-rival, Scott Bakula and when the next day the four women all meet in Andrea's office...There's plenty of humour and fun, also. Like, during a cook out we meet Andrea's brother, Jesus, (played with charm by Cheech Marin) who looks like he could be a drug dealer turns out to be a professor of philosophy at the university while the guy who looks as if he could be a professor--or a used car salesman--turns out to be the dealer. Central to the story is a custody case where lovely Liz Torres shows up as the presiding judge in the courtroom. The case involves Andrea's less educated, but spunky legal secretary. Andrea has fallen for the opposing lawyer (Bakula), so she helps her secretary find other representation...There could have problems with conflict of interest, Andrea says. But when the secretary finds out of Andrea's involvement with the opposing lawyer, it all smacks of treachery and sell-out. Which, overall, if you think about it a bit, ends up symbolising the questions anybody from the non-dominant culture has to confront when they are awarded great success and others from the same neighborhood have yet to arrive at the same stature in life...The movie is an entertaining look at what goes on in the psyche of Latina America.

Rating:
Summary: Vivacious, intelligent, funny Latinas rekindle memories
Review: Evelina Fernandez's writing is superb, she takes you on a thrilling emotional rollercoaster ride. Through the slump of a divorce and the exciting high of dating a new love, and everthing in between. The film brought back fond memories of growing up Latino, I felt like I had just revisited my old friends and familia. The characters portray the complete Latino spectrum; from the savvy vato performed masterfully by Cheech Marin to the wanna be gabacha played by the wonderful Marta DuBois. Dyana Ortelli, Angela Moya and Lupe Ontiveros are hilarious and turn in outstanding performances. When you're not crying you'll be laughing uncontrollably. Robert Beltran is very believable as the scoundrel husband. Sal Lopez is a convincing Mexican mesero who is tenacious in his pursuit of DuBois' character. Truly one of the few well put together and enjoyable films in a long time. Latinas will have to get together for a "Luminarias" slumber party and talk about men until the wee hours of the morning. I'm looking forward to more movies from this group of top-notch performers.

Rating:
Summary: Great Latinas
Review: Great characterizations of Latinas in today modern world of high pressure jobs and high demanding relationships. The feature combines them both along with the longstanding inner struggle with Latina indentity and male machismo. It hit the nail on the head. Admirable script and characters not to mention the quality of actors.
Great job guys.

Rating:
Summary: Great Latinas
Review: Great characterizations of Latinas in today modern world of high pressure jobs and high demanding relationships. The feature combines them both along with the longstanding inner struggle with Latina indentity and male machismo. It hit the nail on the head. Admirable script and characters not to mention the quality of actors.
Great job guys.

Rating:
Summary: A gem of a movie!
Review: I absolutely loved the writing and the performances in this movie. Not a stereotype to be found anywhere. Evelina Fernandez' writing is flawless and so is the casting. Above all, I've never seen a better representation of Latina women on film. Did I mention the writing? Evelina Fernandez knows how to set up a situation like a fast ball pitcher who suddenly throws you a breaking curve. I won't give anything away but Cheech Marin and Sal Lopez are great in secondary roles that are gems and Robert Beltran and a surprising Scott Bakula are supurb as the lead male characters. But I couldn't take my eyes off Evelina when she's on screen. Lovely and disarmingly seductive, I had no idea she was the writer until the credits rolled. She's supported by a great cast of female actors including Marta DuBois, Dyana Ortelli, Lupe Ontiveros and Angela Moya who shine. This is the kind of film you'll love showing to someone for the first time.

Rating:
Summary: Latinas Watch This Movie
Review: I am a white male, and was not offended one bit. This movie is not racist, but a very accurate sescription of what Mexican women are like. I am friends with many Mexican ladies, and by God, put them together, and You have Luminarias. This movie is funny, touching, and very true to life. All the actors are great. Scott Bakula, Cheech Marin play their roles to perfection. The real stars are the ladies. Hats off toa wonderful movie. Everyone should see this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Latinas Watch This Movie
Review: I am a white male, and was not offended one bit. This movie is not racist, but a very accurate sescription of what Mexican women are like. I am friends with many Mexican ladies, and by God, put them together, and You have Luminarias. This movie is funny, touching, and very true to life. All the actors are great. Scott Bakula, Cheech Marin play their roles to perfection. The real stars are the ladies. Hats off toa wonderful movie. Everyone should see this movie.

Rating:
Summary: Funny; Great Characters; Light; Entertaining; Truthful
Review: I saw this movie last night by chance (there was nothing else on TV) and I am very glad I did. Even though I am not Mexican American I am a hispanic woman and this movie showed a side of us that many people don't see. First of all these women were not your stereotypical latinas we see on screen such as gang bangers, prostitutes, poor and uneducated, instead the're just the opposite but with the hangups that plague most minority women. I know because as a latina growing up in the South during the 60's I always felt the same way. I attended private Catholic schools and it was hell, the white girls felt I was too brown so friendship was out and the black kids I came in contact with also gave me the cold shoulder so for a long time I felt displaced. As a result I did everything I needed to do to have a great education and make money. But the price was high. It is only now that I'm trying to get back to my roots.
This movie also shows a lot of the problems women in general have to deal with specially those of us who are independent and of strong will. And as for those who thought the male characters were flat and two dimensional, they need to realize that the movie was about the women. By the way, I thought portrayal of "cholo" the professor was a great depiction of how many of us judge people by the way they look instead of who they really are.

Rating:
Summary: Funny; Great Characters; Light; Entertaining; Truthful
Review: I saw this movie last night by chance (there was nothing else on TV) and I am very glad I did. Even though I am not Mexican American I am a hispanic woman and this movie showed a side of us that many people don't see. First of all these women were not your stereotypical latinas we see on screen such as gang bangers, prostitutes, poor and uneducated, instead the're just the opposite but with the hangups that plague most minority women. I know because as a latina growing up in the South during the 60's I always felt the same way. I attended private Catholic schools and it was hell, the white girls felt I was too brown so friendship was out and the black kids I came in contact with also gave me the cold shoulder so for a long time I felt displaced. As a result I did everything I needed to do to have a great education and make money. But the price was high. It is only now that I'm trying to get back to my roots.
This movie also shows a lot of the problems women in general have to deal with specially those of us who are independent and of strong will. And as for those who thought the male characters were flat and two dimensional, they need to realize that the movie was about the women. By the way, I thought portrayal of "cholo" the professor was a great depiction of how many of us judge people by the way they look instead of who they really are.

Rating:
Summary: Very Insightful
Review: I watched this movie last night was really touched by it. It spoke to the heart of what Mexican Americans face on a daily basis. The complexity of the story lines were very realistic to me. As a minority in this country I could identify with some of the struggles that these women faced. Its just a fact of life. On certain levels there are no easy solutions. Certain aspects of these women showed them as being "flawed" in some way, but I appreciated how they helped each other through some of the "madness". We all have issues that plague us, but it matters how we allow them to help us grow. Either we embrace them or let them hinder how we relate to others. Even in the face of assumptions about "other" races (or lifestyle chosen) that were made, there were moments when the main characters had to re-examine how they previously felt. I would say that they were enlightened, maybe not completely changed..but more aware. This film really could have been played out within any racial group in some way all of us have had to think about these things. I also enjoyed how it examined how females and males relate to one another as well.