the US films I see here in the Philippines (on HBO etc) usually show minorities who are drug dealers or criminals a la "Hollywood Shuffle" cliches, or full of upper class white girls who work elite jobs and then find a boyfriend and "reality" when they go back to their small town (and neither they nor their boyfriend have family ties or money problems) as in every Hallmark movie available.
and of course in too many Hollywood films, everyone falls in bed with each other, and there are car chase scenes, and in a lot of them there a monster who pops out of the sewers to threaten the nubile (blond) teenager.
which is why I watch so many K dramas.
But here, we see ordinary folks trying their best to live a good life.
WTF? aren't those making the film aware that these cliches are the only ones that can make money in Hollywood?
well, what do you expect when you get a film made by the guys who made crazy rich Asians and Hamilton. link
the story is about a Dominican Neighborhood in NYC, and like most ethnic neighborhoods is full of family stories, people working hard to get by, and caring for each other. And I emphasize family: because Hollywood seems to ignore that families exist, or when they show families, only show neurotic dysfunctional families full of nasty characters.
the main character dreams of going "home" to his family's town to set up a small shop, prompting my granddaughter to point out that often the second generation immigrants don't appreciate the problems of their parent's home country because they only see it on short visits. (One of her complaints about FilAm kids who think the beach in Boracay is the norm, not the rice fields of Pampanga or the barangays of working class Manila).
but like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, he finds his dream is really at home.
About the only thing missing is religion and religious icons on the wall. Oh well, never mind.
A similar story could be told about working class neighborhoods in cities and small towns. But this is told with music and dance.
A nice film filled with hope.
My only complaint is that I hate rap music, so dislike the songs and would have preferred more melodic tunes. But then I am an old grannie: and my granddaughter loved it.
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