Benavides Born

A high school senior trapped in the small forgotten town of Benavides, Texas, Luz Garcia (Corina Calderon) finds refuge in her high school powerlifting team. She dreams of becoming the State Powerlifting Champion to win a scholarship to the Univ. of Texas at Austin. The storyline itself is very predictable... underdog overcomes overwhelming obstacles to reach her dreams, orvso it would seem. In the end, you realize the plot was anything but predictable. At times slow and tedious, the storyline teases our patience with dull and seemingly insignificant details of everyday life, but this only adds another dimension this short expose on life in Southern Texas where 90% of the population is Mexican-American. We're drawn in one baby step at a time, until without realizing it we've become one with the protagonist and her struggles. This gem of a movie is a must see.

to me, watching movies is not just killing time or getting thrills out of the monotonous life, it's something i want to get to learn more about someone else' real life in my neighborhood or what is happening right now in a remote place. 'all she can' is such a movie that has made me thinking and pondering of what is the future of America, what kind of hope we got for our young generation. it's not just those kids from their rich families but for those young ones from the constantly struggling mass of this so-called promise land of your American dream. what we got here is a high school immigrant young girl trying so hard to get out and get away from the suffocating hopeless surroundings where she and her family are struggling. her only means to get out is choosing weight lifting not by working in the fast food joint. she tried everything but then decided to cut corners, then facing and dealing with the doomed consequences. those most are law abiding Mexican immigrants for several generations already in the deadbeat Texas small town, their daily struggles are what i have seen all around me, not just in Texas but every states in America. 'American dream' now has become a laughing joke, a once called promise land now seemingly and ironically called as a 'land of broken dreams'. when the only way for some good kids from the poor families is by becoming the chosen ones for boxing, track and field, dancing, playing all kinds of balls, now, even a young female high school girl has to choose 'weight lifting' to get scholarship, to get out of her dying small town in Texas (and her brother, as always, only the kids from poor families or poor immigrant families got the privilege to serve their ((adopted)) country), then i have no doubt that America got serious problem. how could we make fun of the Chinese or the Russians, mocking their young athletes are the products of the state? while pointing your finger at them and making jokes at them, why don't you have the courage and decency to look at yourself in the mirror? what makes you think that America or American are so different from them?

this is a very sad almost break-my-heart movie. it's so hopeless and so hurt to see such a strong-minded young kid fighting a hopeless war she could never win. even she did pass the wt. lifting contest, she still get so many hurdles and obstacles in her future to overcome. the poverty of her family is the original sin she always has to deal with again and again.

Excellent film! I think the Mexican-American community would identify with and appreciate the film (for the story really is about them), but feel that the film's themes about perseverance, confidence building, and empowerment (particularly for young women) are universal, and the director/writer made particular effort to include elements - like non-ethnic-specific score and songs - to help viewers beyond the Mexican-American community find themselves in this story.

The young woman in the lead role does an amazing job, as do all the actors.

I look forward to seeing more wonderful films from Kapok Pictures.

The Hispanic population of the U.S. is our fastest-growing segment, yet we know so little about the Hispanic-Americans, who have lived in the southwest for generations. Here is a big little movie that tells that story, and much more. It is a coming-of-age story of a young S. Texas woman who is recognizable to all of us (men and women, Hispanic and Caucasian) who were young once and kept making mistakes. A realistic ending does not diminish the triumph, not only for Luz, but for her family, a poor family that sticks together though thick and thin. And there is plenty of thin in their lives and community. I loved all the characters, especially the grandmother...maybe because I am one. I loved the see-saw between small comic moments and big awful scenes. I saw this movie in a packed theater on the last day of the Sundance Film Festival. I would recommend the film to anyone who is dying for a good story, well-told and well-acted, about a part of our country that is our "back yard", yet so little known.