One Film Review for My Brother

I have known my brother for a quarter of a century now. And during that time, there is only one film that we both immediately identify each other with. That movie is La Bamba.

As kids, there were very few movies that featured Mexican-Americans (who didn’t speak Spanish) in the lead roles. La Bamba was not only an important movie culturally, but it tells the story of sibling rivalry between two brothers. Growing up in a small community in California, Richie and Bob mirrored the two of us almost exactly or at least, our self-images of ourselves.

Richie was the younger brother, the shining golden boy. No matter what he did, he excelled at it and everyone wrapped him in love and support. But, Bob didn’t feel that same love. Bob’s story was forever intertwined with Richie’s, but could have been a movie by itself. Bob spent time in jail, had problems with alcohol and drugs and always felt slighted by his family. The simple fact was that they were two different people for being brothers. Richie was unsure about his rock-n-roll dreams and needed that constant assurance to pursue his music. Bob was far more independent with a rebellious streak. When he found his own marginal talent, it was met with indifference and outright rejection from his family. He pushed people away who tried to get close to him and his distrust kept him alone and away from his family. However, Bob was always begrudgingly proud of his younger brother and its shown in the film several times, from Bob outside the garage on his motorcycle to watching American Bandstand in the bar. The scene where Bob disrupts the concert at the hall epitomizes their relationship. Bob shows up drunk, but in good spirits to enjoy the show. A small conflict sets him off and his violent tendencies take over. Ruining the show and starting a fight that destroys the hall, Bob internalizes everything to the point that he fights back against his mother and Richie, seeking some sympathy for himself. In this way, it highlights both the positive and negative stereotypes of Mexican Americans. There is the strong sense of family first that informs the relationship between brother and brother and mother and son. I know that my brother’s favorite part is when Richie is asked what’s more important to him, his friends or his music and answers, “my family.”

Directed by Taylor Hackford, the movie features great performances from Lou Diamond Phillips, Elizabeth Pena, Rosana DeSoto and Joe Pantoliano (any movie with Joey Pants is awesome). For me, the movie will always be Esai Morales. He gives a powerhouse portrayal that should have garnered an Oscar nod. People don't know that the real Bob Morales eventually cleaned up and works as a drug counselor. I got the chance to work with Esai in television and he was a really nice guy. I told him how much my brother and I loved La Bamba as kids and he was appreciative of the fact. What I didn’t tell him was that I was grateful for the movie giving the two of us a chance to forget about our childish fights and become close to each other as brothers before that opportunity was taken from us.

Happy Birthday Matt.

One Film Review for A Friend

I’ve been told that I don’t give bad reviews to movies. I think I just try to avoid bad movies. I developed my theory to treat movies like dates. Sometimes, I try to avoid the ones that I know will be completely unrewarding. However, on any other date, regardless of how it seems to be going, I never give up in the first few minutes. I stay focused on finding something interesting to get me through it. And to that extent, I decided to take a second look at The Boondock Saints.

The Boondock Saints is a cult movie for a certain type of person who compose a large number of my friends. They are the goddamn Irish. My friends that have Gaelic tattoos, spend an inordinate amount of time in pubs, love rock music with bagpipes and root for any team from Boston. The lovable, drunken, rowdy Irish. Mexican people and Irish people actually have a lot in common from their Roman Catholic faith, their predilection to alcohol, their special holidays turned into marketing bonanzas for Seagrams, close family ties and are descended from ancient cultures with a strong sense of history. Micks and spics were made to get along.

Many of those same themes are expressed in the film from the strong bond between the brothers McManus, Connor and Murphy to their strong sense of faith and Holy Mother Church. It’s that belief in duty and devotion to God that drives them to murder mobsters, pimp, drug dealers and other malcontents in the Boston area. For the life of me, I understand the appeal, but I don’t get it either. Of course, people love vigilantes, *coughBatman and I understand people’s frustrations at watching criminals go free, while they themselves are stuck in some process of the judicial system for a traffic infraction. But, it seems like the same people who embrace the spirit of the film, don’t follow to path of the McManus’ and their simple decision of action versus inaction. Of course, you won’t find me pulling on tights and battling mugger in Robinson Park either. My friend however, decided to be pro-active with her life and when she thought it needed a new direction, she was unafraid to take it and for that, I respect her.

The movie’s violence is well choreographed and the film has obvious influences from Scorsese and DePalma’s gangster movies of the past twenty years. It’s interesting to me that it was made before The Departed and I wonder if Marty watched it before he made his movie. Not that the film is on the same level (everything bows to The Departed.), but it is remarkable for first time writer/director Troy Duffy. He clearly has a vision of what he wanted the movie to be and I think he achieved it well. Made in a pre 9/11 world, the movie is eerily foreshadowing of the religion extremism that would infect our country in a few years from people with bad intentions to those with good ones. I also like what he does with the ongoing FBI investigation and how they play the scenes out simultaneously.

This brings me to my favorite part of the movie, Willem Dafoe. Never mind the fact that Duffy had the foresight to bring in a Scorsese favorite in their Scorsese homage, Dafoe is brilliant as a gay FBI investigator who starts the movie as a consummate professional and slowly becomes unhinged as he tries to figure out the identities of the killers. Playing gay, but not fruity, sensitive and still tough, Dafoe is worth the price of admission to this movie for me. He is clearly enjoying himself, getting into the character and showing us how much the character enjoys giving into his desires as well, by joining up with the brothers to share with their type of justice.

The only thing that could have made this movie better for me would have been if Billy Connolly had been given some more time and some jokes as well. But, the film does succeed on many levels, not the least of which is making a lasting film with a devoted fan base after many obstacles in its path during production. And if you want the real story on that, I recommend checking out Overnight.

And shepherds we shall be, for Thee, my Lord, for Thee. Power hath descended forth from Thy hand, that our feet may swiftly carry out Thy command. So we shall flow a river forth to Thee, and teeming with souls shall it ever be.

This one is for you, Irish.

One Film Review for My Father

I have written here before about my father, briefly. How he took my brother and I to see T2, made us watch Full Metal Jacket on VHS and about our mutual love of action movies. And while my father may have different tastes in most movies than my own, he has always supported me in whatever direction my obsession with cinema has taken me, up to and including this blog. This post is about one of my favorite movies that always makes me think of my dad. Field of Dreams.

Kevin Costner stars as Ray Kinsella, an ex-hippie Iowa farmer who hears voices in his cornfield. The voice tells him famously, “If you build it, they will come.” Ray tears down the corn, builds a baseball diamond and begins a journey that starts inside of himself, takes him across the country and finally back home to his family and redemption. Based on the novel Shoeless Joe by W.P. Kinsella, it’s a very moving story about fathers, sons and baseball. Kevin Costner, an actor I’ve gone on record as being a fan of, gives a great performance that is very down to Earth and is perhaps his most memorable role and certainly one of his best. He shines as the ‘everyman’ that he rarely gets to play. Some people dislike the movie with a preference for Bull Durham, but Field of Dreams is more than a baseball movie. James Earl Jones plays Terrance Mann, a character based on author J.D. Salinger, who helps Ray in his journey to make sense of everything. Jones brings a levitas to the film that rings true with more than baseball fans and gets to the heart of viewers who have a passion denied in life. Like he says, the movie “reminds us all of all that once was good and it could be again.”

The movie is a very layered dealing with family issues, economic and social strife and the essence of America. The filmmakers ‘built’ a special film that has been passed on from one generation to the next. They built it and people came. People still come to the actual field in Dyersville, Iowa and play ball on the field with their families, sit on the bleachers and watch the game of walk right out of the corn onto the grass. There’s something unique about a film that gets to live on in the real world everyday like this one. Face it, as much as I love Star Wars, I’ll never get to visit the Death Star on vacation (and no, I’m not traveling to Tunisia, either). It's always been a dream of mine to travel across country one summer to all the baseball stadiums and this field as well.

The real message of the movie and the reason that it has remained so beloved is the relationship between the father and son. Ray recounts the story of how he and he father fell out over baseball and Shoeless Jo Jackson. Anybody who has ever had a disagreement with their father can relate to his story and sadly, far too many can understand his emotions at not being able to reconcile before his father passed away. My father was in the first Desert Storm and later I was in Afghanistan. I know that at different times, both of us had thoughts that we might never see the other again. Like Ray and his father, a lot has gone unsaid between me and my father, but I think that everything is understood. Unlike Ray's dad, my father never pushed me into doing something I didn't want to and looking back, that still means a lot to me. When the final scene plays out between Ray and his father, tears well up in my eyes and I miss my dad, wherever he is. I know he had a tough time raising a kid like me, but he has tried really hard in the past few years to try to make up for those times and I love him for it.

Happy Father’s Day, Dad.

Field of Dreams is available on DVD from Universal.