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Originally titled 'La jaula de oro' which means 'The Gilded Cage' - Which seems far more of an appropriate title than the English language one it was given.
Director Diego Quemada-Díez apparently worked with Ken Loach on a couple of films and it shows in this movie - it's a very raw, real look at the lengths people in central America and Mexico will go to find a way to get across the border to the USA.
Amatuer actors Brandon López, Rodolfo Domínguez and Karen Martínez give 3 pretty memorable, ultra real performances as teenage acquaintances that are dreaming of a new life. The film is very good at stressing how cheap life is in certain parts of the world. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't expecting the level of desperation and all round brutality of the film. Maybe because it has been described as a 'road movie', and films of that genre are normally more jovial and light hearted. It was anything but. Which made for a better film. as there are scenes of proper tension and stress.
The third act of the film really cranks it up as the whole journey comes to a resolution of sports. There is also a superb camera trick at this point which I had to rewind about 4 times as it was unexpected and so well done.
Overall the film is very impressive in it's own right but feels even more poignant and relevant in 2018 than perhaps it was on release.
Highly recommended. 8.5/10
'The Golden Dream' (2013)
Originally titled 'La jaula de oro' which means 'The Gilded Cage' - Which seems far more of an appropriate title than the English language one it was given.
Director Diego Quemada-Díez apparently worked with Ken Loach on a couple of films and it shows in this movie - it's a very raw, real look at the lengths people in central America and Mexico will go to find a way to get across the border to the USA.
Amatuer actors Brandon López, Rodolfo Domínguez and Karen Martínez give 3 pretty memorable, ultra real performances as teenage acquaintances that are dreaming of a new life. The film is very good at stressing how cheap life is in certain parts of the world. I'm not sure why, but I wasn't expecting the level of desperation and all round brutality of the film. Maybe because it has been described as a 'road movie', and films of that genre are normally more jovial and light hearted. It was anything but. Which made for a better film. as there are scenes of proper tension and stress.
The third act of the film really cranks it up as the whole journey comes to a resolution of sports. There is also a superb camera trick at this point which I had to rewind about 4 times as it was unexpected and so well done.
Overall the film is very impressive in it's own right but feels even more poignant and relevant in 2018 than perhaps it was on release.
Highly recommended. 8.5/10