**********

“La Mission” is one of the most powerful and rewarding films I’ve seen in years. It is a great story, told very well by very talented people who had something important to say.

Every actor is perfectly cast and directed. Benjamin Bratt gives his heart in his performance as Che Riveria: he is given solid dialogue, but in the scene where he has no words, his body and soul communicate all that needs to be said and more, and he is very good at showing how his character can go from a gentle soul to a dangerous man.

A reformed inmate, a recovering alcoholic, and since his wife’s death the single father of teenager Jesse, Che has a day job as a bus driver, and he is busy doing good deeds for his neighbours, upholding the code of honor he learned growing up and custom-building lowriders to drive every Friday nights through the streets of San Francisco’s Mission district along with his friends, the “Mission Boyz”.

Che is well-respected in his neighborhood for both his hard-living past and the fact that he’s made something of his life. There is no one in the world that Che loves more than his son Jesse, a good kid and a clean-living achiever who’s about to graduate from high school at the top of his class and is bound for UCLA, but both father and son are about to discover that love isn’t always unconditional.

When Che – whose entire existence is defined by his macho reputation – accidentally discovers Jesse is gay and has a boyfriend, Jordan, he is upset and reacts the only way he knows – violently. A fight on the street ensues and the secret becomes public knowledge. Che is too old-school to accept his son’s sexuality and Jesse is his father’s younger version: he is a conflicted determined young man who is not willing to compromise his beliefs, much like his father clings to his traditional values, so the rift seems irreparable. The painful scene when Che confronts Jesse is painful, and the rest of the movie revolves around the consequences of Jesse’s secret being out and Che’s struggle to figure out what he should do despite the deep betrayal he feels from his son.

Not everyone in the community is intolerant: Che’s brother Rene and his wife Ana are surprised but accepting – their only son was born with a cardiac defect and that has made them more sensitive to the differences in children – and when Che throws him out of his home they take Jesse in until things cool down.

But others in the neighbourhood are not as open-minded, and bullies hassle the Riveras and Jesse is eventually shot by a homophobic young Mission thug.

Along the way, Che develops a complicated relationship with his new neighbor Lena – a woman with a history of abuse who is devoting her life to working in a women’s shelter. Lena sees through Che’s violent, macho exterior. Experience has taught her that he is the kind of man who can’t change, but she can’t help but be moved by the wounded boy inside. She tries to help father and son mend fences and force Che to face his own demons and begin to understand his son more fully.

Che is proud, volatile and carrying around a closetful of skeletons, but he is fundamentally a decent guy. It is just that his culture and upbringing force him to think along certain predetermined lines.The distraught father abandons everything that means anything to him, and returns to the bottle. A near tragedy reveals what Che has to lose by his stubborn rejection and violent temper. The burden is on Che to repair his relationship with his son.

Finally, the film provides a good insight into Latino culture and San Francisco is a wonderful backdrop to the story, but I don’t think you need to be a Latino or from San Francisco and have a gay member in your family to relate to the characters and understand how hard it is to tell someone you love something about yourself that you know will be disapproved of and how hard it is to discover that someone you love is different from what you hoped/expected and accept that difference.

Florida

• Key West (Tropic Cinema).

Here is an entry in Tropic Cinema movie discussion blog about the movie:

Tropic Cinema Movie Discussion Blog: La Mission (Rhoades)

http://www.bioethicsscreenrefl.....genre.html

Another review of “La Mission” can be found at

Drama: La Mission

Tropic Cinema Website

iTunes – Songs from La Mission or

Round Whirled Records – Songs from La Mission

Moreover, there is also the original motion picture soundtrack composed by Mark Kilian and released by Lakeshore Records available from iTunes and Amazon.com:

iTunes – La Mission (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Amazon.com – La Mission (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack)

Don’t forget to buy “La Mission” on DVD from Screen Media Films or Amazon.com, or rent it from Netflix

The movie – directed by Peter Bratt and starring Benjamin Bratt and Jesse Borrego – was never released to the general public and shown only in limited, pre-coordinated venues, so this is a great opportunity to see it for those interested and being in the Indianapolis area at the time it will be screened, in my opinion.

Follow Me Home With Filmmaker Peter Bratt

I’d like to share a letter that Benjamin and Peter Bratt and Alpita Patel posted on “La Mission” Facebook page:

“Whaddup, La Mission Familia!
As we end an unbelievable 4 month theatrical run and launch the release of the DVD of La Mission today, August 10th, we wanted to thank all of you friends and fans for sharing your time, support and honest feedback with us over these last several months.

Independent films created outside …the Hollywood system are difficult to make, and even harder to distribute. And if the film is about people of color, it’s an even tougher road. Global Cinema Distribution and Screen Media Ventures, the small independent companies that distributed La MISSION, didn’t have a great deal of money to spend on marketing, but that didn’t keep you all from coming out to support it. Because of your passionate response to the film, you spread the word to your friends and relatives, allowing La MISSION to play in over 25 cities, and in almost 100 theaters around the country.

Pitted against big budget summer blockbusters, small independent films like La MISSION aren’t expected to last more than a week in theaters. But you proved the conventional wisdom wrong. In fact, earlier last month, we reached a milestone that not many indie films achieve: La MISSION hit the million dollar mark at the box office! And while this amount doesn’t pay all the bills, it does send a message that there is an audience for films about complex people and from various cultures andcommunities like ours.

Although traveling with the film to do 3 Q&A’s per day (sometimes 6!) was exhausting, we wouldn’t change a thing. We loved the discussions and sometimes heated debates that the film provoked, and hope you walked away with at least a sense of being entertained, if not inspired.

As the film reaches a wider audience through DVD and BLU-RAY, we will continue to keep you updated on upcoming events, a soon-to-be released oldies soundtrack, and special screenings like the one in September with acclaimed Professor and author, Dr. Cornell West.

Remember that the DVD is available EVERYWHERE starting today, August 10th, and you can order directly at this link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E.....ap2it07-20

In Gratitude and Appreciation, Peter, Benjamin and Alpita”

I think that the Bratt brothers, Alpita Patel and all “La Mission” cast and crew are to be thanked not only for their work on the movie, but also for their willingness to travel with it and answer its audience’s questions in Q&A sessions.

• Best Actor/Feature Film: Benjamin Bratt
• Best Supporting Actor/Feature Film: Jeremy Ray Valdez
• Best Feature Film: La Mission

Winners of the 25th Annual Imagen Awards

Barnes & Nobles stores
Rasputin
Walmart stores
SUPERSTAR SATELLITE 474 CASTRO ST SAN FRANCISCO CA 94114

Video Wave of Noe Valley1431-A CASTRO STREET

Video Droid1901 MENDOCINO AVESanta Rosa

Bette’s Flick586 MAGNOLIA AVELarkspur

Silver Screen Video (with 8 convenient Bay area locations to serve you)·
409 3RD STREET San Rafael·
202 NORTHGATE ONE Terra Linda/Santa Rosa·
3850 GRAND AVE Oakland·
860 PETALUMA BLVD NORTH Petaluma·
105-A NORTH MCDOWELL Petaluma·
459 MILLER AVE Mill Valley·
894 SIR FRANCIS DRAKE BLVD San Anselmo·
3010 EL CERRITO PLAZA El Cerrito

The movie is also available on www.amazon.com.

Round Whirled Records: Songs from La Mission