Quinceañera: Echo Park

When I went to see this film, I had no idea what it was about, other than that it had something to do with the 15th birthday of a latino girl. It was a preview and the ticket was free. I was very pleasantly surprised. This is a either a little gem of a movie or a gem of a little movie. It shows a little slice of life - centering around the (major) problems of members of a latino extended family in Los Angeles (mostly the younger members). I'm not latino, and I live in northern California - so I have no idea how accurate a picture it is, but the picture is nevertheless true to life. All the characters are very believable - a rather rare description of an American film these days. I have never heard of any of the actors, yet without exception the acting was superb. Every character seemed very real, like people I have known. Halfway through the film, I did not know where it would end - the story could still have turned in several different directions. With the exception of an anglo gay couple, all the characters spoke in both English and Spanish, as many Mexican-Americans do in California.

For some bizarre reason, one of the major characters - Herman (played by an actor named J.R. Cruz, is not listed in the credits in IMDb.