Padre Nuestro (2007) Reviews

• suspenseful tale with told with deep character development

  joelbarrybrandt2008-04-26

  My wife and I saw Padre Nuestro, now called Sangre De Mi Sangre at a special showing at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and were treated to a question and answer session by the Director/writer, Christopher Zalla. The name of the movie was changed from Padre Nuestro to its new title in Mexico where it had a fairly wide distribution to avoid confusion with an earlier light weight comedy made in Chile with the same title. This movie is anything but light weight as it revolves around the gritty life experiences of illegal aliens struggling to survive in the United States in a dog eat dog world. This movie contains wonderful performances from each of its four principal characters and Jesus Ochoa (Diego), who is the most well recognized of the Mexican cast, fills the screen with a performance as large as his girth. Armando Hernandez (Juan) deserves mention for an equally powerful performance with only a slightly lesser efforts from Jorge Adrian Espindola (Pedro) and Paola Mendoza (Magda, which certainly did not detract from the excellence of this film. Filmed on location in a gritty industrial section of Brooklyn, the story contains a sense of believability with only a modest level of contrivance necessary to develop a credible, seamless story line. A powerful movie, which measured up to its success at the Sundance film festival in 1987. The movie will have a limited release in the United States at a single theatre in five city's during the month of May, 2008, so it may not be widely seen, which would be a shame. I look forward to seeing Christopher's next film which we are told will be set in a Bolivian prison for Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment and which may star Don Cheadle.

• A good director who should stick to directing

  larry952008-05-18

  Mr. Zalla is a very good director, he gets wonderful performances from the actors and demonstrates a great sense of visual composition. However the writing is sloppy at best, the story does not hold water, is filled with inconsistencies and maintains a gruesome, almost sordid tone to a movie that could have said just as much about the condition of immigrants without stripping them of their humanity. That the characters are flawed is expected, but must they all be beyond hope of redemption? A day after seeing this movie, I am still making lists of all the details that did not add up or were entirely too coincidental for such an otherwise "realistic" movie. The soundtrack by Brian Cullman is excellent. One wishes there was more of it.

• Good cast making the most out of an impossible script!

  NBernard882008-11-02

  Despite a good cast and great directing, the first noticeable thing about Sangre De Mi Sangre is the improbabilities of the screenplay. Pedro a young man easily crosses over the Mexican/U.S. border with a truck waiting (unhidden) to take illegal immigrants on a rather rapid, non-stop trip to New York City. He is looking for his father who he believes is the owner of a French restaurant by stopping at every one listed in the yellow pages. It's like a series of unlikely events. While in the truck he meets Juan and tells him his story. Juan decides to steal Pedro's identity to take advantage of the situation. Pedro tries to find his father by the help of Magda, a rough around the edges girl who uses her smarts to survive. As dubious as the story may seem, it is never predictable. Pedro doesn't fall in love with Magda but does care for her sincerely. Pedro's father Diego doesn't welcome a deceitful Juan in open arms even after he believes that he is his son. However, Diego comes to love Juan and what's strange is that Juan grows to love him as a father too. The relationship between the two of them is the strongest in the film. Pedro's scenario is more of a story of hard knocks. He learns that he can't trust everyone and how to survive on the rough streets. He must do things against his convictions for money even compromising Magda. He's not as cunning as Juan is and is much more noble. The antagonism between the two characters is apparent even though they are only together for two scenes in the film. The actors elevate the weak material particularly Jesus Ochoa (Diego) who manages to make the most mundane things, like sewing faux rose petals, interesting. Armando Hernandez plays Juan's impersonation of Pedro is so believable that if the film began twenty minutes in; there would no reason to believe that he wasn't Diego's son. Jorge Adrian Espindola's (Pedro) innocence and Paola Mendoza's (Magda) brashness compliment each other. It would have been great to see what they could've done if they had better material.

• Amazing Film

  filippobozotti2008-05-10

  I saw this film at Sundance -- and was blown away -- it is a fascinating film and extremely well done. There are a lot of different ways to look at the immigration issue, but I think that Chris Zalla chose a unique path. However, what was so beautiful about this film is that it is not an immigration movie -- that is what I loved. It was a human story. A family story. Painful, but uplifting all at the same time. I was riveted by the actors, especially Paola Mendoza, who I think is incredibly talented. I hope that films like this can open up a dialogue about the immigration issue in this country, as I think that it is time for us, as a nation, deal with this problem. I look forward to seeing the film again.

• A Powerful Story About Immigrant Journeys

  gradyharp2008-10-10

  SANGRE DE MI SANGRE (also known as PADRE NUESTRO) is a fast-paced, raw, and rather brutal indictment against the cruelty immigrants face upon entering this country. Written and directed by Christopher Zalla the film may cover territory becoming a bit overexposed in cinema of late, but the story is so well told and acted that it rises to the top of the films currently available about the experiences immigrants (from Mexico, in this case) endure in trying to better their lives under the torch of the Statue of Liberty! The film opens in Mexico where a young criminal Juan (Armando Hernández) narrowly escapes his pursuers by jumping over the border fence and landing in a situation where a coyote (corrupt border guard) is loading his truck with immigrants to transport them for cash to New York. The street-wise Juan is one of many stuffed into a truck and happens to sit by a young illiterate lad his age named Pedro (Jorge Adrián Espíndola) who is on his way to meet his father who lives in New York ('a man who owns a restaurant') but whom Pedro has never seen (he carries with him a letter to his father from his recently deceased mother). Through all manner of staging errors and transportation glitches, the two young boys, full of dreams of a better future in America, land in New York. Juan loses his money and his ID and steels from his newfound friend. Pedro encounters a streetwalker named Magda (Paola Mendoza) who promises to help Pedro find his father Diego (Jesús Ochoa). But Jaun has found the dishwasher Diego first, claims to be his son, and causes confusion and discord in Diego's life. How the two lads manage to survive the complexities of life in Brooklyn and are swept up in the raw life of crime that surrounds the lives of illegal immigrants makes for a complicated story, but one filled with unforgettable characters and emotions. This film had an unfortunately brief run in the theaters. It is a well-made film in every aspect and deserves wider audience which now, on DVD , it just may reach. Highly recommended. Grady Harp