Quinceañera (Richard Glatzer and Wash Westmoreland, 2006) 4*

(To my Spring 2007 students, don't get this yet as you will probably be seeing it in the second half of the semester)

Reviewed by Michael Benton

I've been sick for the last two days and I finally found the strength to go get some films (Wassup Rockers is the other one that I haven't seen yet) and the first one I watched was a very pleasant surprise. I was trying to find some independent films with unique perspectives and with that in mind I chose Quinceañera. It did have the unique cultural and place-based (rooted in the unique and special characteristics of an environment) characteristics of small, independent films (the film takes place amongst the Mexican-American community of Echo Park in L.A.--it also reflects the bilingual lifestyle of the residents). This film though was something more, I thought it would be a pleasant coming-of-age story of a young Mexican-American girl, but it went way beyond that to explore family issues, sexuality, rituals/taboos, and identity. The characters of Carlos, Maria and Tomas start off as typical, but go off in such unusual ways bringing me to think about my earlier assumptions about them. The conflict and bonding of the three was a unique examination of love/friendship. I really appreciate a film (and literature) that can push me to question assumptions and challenge me to think anew about characters and their motivations. This is especially true about the character of Carlos... who enters the film with all of the stereotypical associations of a barrio tough guy.

Highly recommended!!!