Gabriela

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Love Story
Review: Completely on the opposite side of the drab and often poorly written indie films focusing on unrealistic characters, "Gabriela" offers real people in involving circumstances. I wish there were more independent films like this, it would bring me back to the theater.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Love Story
Review: Completely on the opposite side of the drab and often poorly written indie films focusing on unrealistic characters, "Gabriela" offers real people in involving circumstances. I wish there were more independent films like this, it would bring me back to the theater.

Rating:
Summary: Low-budget not Indie
Review: Don't be fooled by the positive reviews. This film is low-budget in a cheap, cliched, poor dialog, predictable way. Less than halfway through, I began to wonder if I had accidentally picked some soft core porn. But this movie isn't even sexy. I don't know why I finished watching it. Those are some minutes I can't get back.

Rating:
Summary: A Great Love Story with Stunning Perfomances.
Review: Gabriela is a great love story. The stars, Jaime Gomez and Seidy Lopez both light up the screen with stunning performances. The story has real passion, drama and humor. Well known supporting actors put in great performances too. The movie is visually beautiful with a rich imagery and lighting. This is an especially well made and entertaining indie film. This is a film that can be watched over and over again on rainy days and nights. A great date movie.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Love Story
Review: I just found this film to be good in every way. What a breath of fresh air to see such a genuine, heartfelt film like they don't make in Hollywood anymore. Full of wonderful moments and excellent performances (Troy Winbush as Douglas and Lupe Ontiveros as Grandma Josie are a riot!). Just a wonderful surprise for an independent film.

Rating:
Summary: Very original, touching, funny love story
Review: I just found this film to be good in every way. What a breath of fresh air to see such a genuine, heartfelt film like they don't make in Hollywood anymore. Full of wonderful moments and excellent performances (Troy Winbush as Douglas and Lupe Ontiveros as Grandma Josie are a riot!). Just a wonderful surprise for an independent film.

Rating:
Summary: Worst movie I've ever seen
Review: I'm really surprised by the positive reviews here. This was one of the worst movies I've ever seen. The plot was simplistic and bland, the characters uninteresting and flat, and the script was poorly written. Every scene with the female lead in it was shot with a glowing, warm filter that made the film look like a really tacky greeting card. There was a scene early on in which the male lead got a new credit card in the mail and decided to go spend money on expensive stereo equipment, including purchasing some for his friend simply because he had this "free money." The movie never came back to this or critiqued this extremely stupid view of money and credit. I know this sounds like a petty critique, but if you see the movie, you'll see why it seems so absurd. Later in the film we are meant to be pleased with the same character's intelligence with money, because he hides his cash when he goes to Mexico so it won't be stolen by crooked cops.

The DVD was very poor quality: there are a lot of moment when it "freezes" and moves choppily because of low digital quality; I expect this in low budget films of course, but when the movie's bad I get impatient. And while there were Spanish subtitles available for the English text of the film, there were no English subtitles for the parts in Spanish. This seemed a really foolish decision on the part of the filmmakers, because it means that the climactic scene between Gabriela and her mother is incomprehensible. Was this intentional? I can't imagine why.

If you're interested in seeing a movie about the clash of Mexican-American culture and white-bread American values, this film is not worth your money--instead, check out "Real Women Have Curves," an honest, well-written, truly enjoyable exploration of similar themes.

Rating:
Summary: A horrible film!!!
Review: The glowing reviews for this film are absolutely ridiculous. As a low-budget filmmaker myself, I appreciate what Gabriela is trying to do, but I wish the filmmakers had taken some more time and tried harder. Perhaps tried to raise a few more dollars to give the film some sort of quality.The film is slow moving and bland, but the characters realistic, which is a plus. There is really nothing to recommend it though, the story has been used countless times before to a much better effect, both in Hollywood and independent films. It is utterly predictable, with no surprises along the way. NONE.

Seidy Lopez, who played Gabriela, was absolutely horrid. Her voice was too low and annoying, and half of what she said was hard to understand. She seemed to phone in her performance with a flat voice and the same expression no matter what was going on. Jaime Gomez, however, was good as her love interest. Haven't seen much of his other work, but I am now interested. Lupe Ontiveros (Real Women Have Curves) was wasted as the grandmother. Putting her name third in the credits is unjust and misleading. She has five minutes screentime. And why aren't there any English subtitles for the Spanish language scenes? It is unfair for anyone who doesn't speak Spanish and does not understand what is being said. That aspect of the film is what made me mad more than anything.

Also, I know this is a low budget film, but the sound quality was horrible. I had to keep rewinding to understand what was being said, and I still couldn't! The actors speak in unnaturally low voices. Combine that with bad sound equipment and half the film is inaudible. Also, what's with the love scenes? Whoever heard of anyone making love in their underwear? Doesn't make sense to me.

I believe the rating for this movie has been rigged on both Amazon.com and IMDB.com. It's not a coincidence that all the glowing reviews sound exactly alike, are written only a few days apart, and there is no information on its authors. I believe that is pathetic on the part of the filmmakers to get viewers. They know they have a loser here and are trying to milk it for what it's worth by posting fake 'glowing' reviews. That's ridiculous. The icing on the cupcake of a stupid idea executed very badly, by people who obviously have no idea what they're doing. Sorry.

Even for independent film lovers like myself, this film was a terrible waste of time. I almost didn't finish it. I can't recommend it to anyone. Stay away, you have been warned.

Rating:
Summary: Really Good Independent Film
Review: This is the best independent film I have seen in about 5 years. It is funny and romantic with a strong story. Not only is the acting top notch, but every detail from the stylized lighting to the music is good. I would recommend this movie to anybody who likes independent films or romances.

I have seen Gomez on Nash Bridges, and I think this movie proves his range playing a tough but sensitive guy. I have seen Lopez in "Mi Vita Loca" and she is a fine actress, and more gorgeous than ever. The two lead characters make a perfect couple, except for.... You have to see it to find out.

If you like good independent movies this should be at the top of your list.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent Independent Film
Review: What a great surprise! I hadn't much heard about "Gabriela" and wasn't expecting much when I saw it in the theater. It has a lot of wonderful little details and moments. Every character is interesting and the film kind of makes me think of Robert Altman in that way. It also makes me think of "Annie Hall" in that there is a lot of humor and a lot of funny smaller characters, but the love story part is serious. The jokes don't keep you from taking the main characters' story seriously. Jaime Gomez and Seidy Lopez have great chemistry as the leads and I like all of the other performances. Lupe Ontiveros is hilarious as the grandma and Troy Winbush is great as the ladies man best friend. I didn't expect much becuase I had heard it was a romantic film, but it's very original and creative. I especially like that you care for all three of the characters caught up in the love triangle and you really don't know what is going to happen in the end. And the music is great!