Yellow Rose

Great acting, casting, direction, locations. Everything but an actual story.

I was really surprised by this movie and very entertained by the characters and music. Eva Noblezada is one hell of a singer and she did a very good acting in this movie which made her character very relatable. I look forward to see her in other films. Dale Watson is excellent as a mentor to the young girl and helping her with her budding music career and not being a prev. It was refreshing to see a younger person taking the advice from an older person about a career path and not be a smart ass know it all teenager. Which currently that is the only way Hollywood writers know how to portray a teenager these days.

The movie also highlights its not just Hispanic people that are illegals in the states but people from other countries too. It also humanize ICE agents and doesn't portray them as mindless robots.

Its a really good feel good movie and you should check it out.

"Yellow Rose" is such a touching and beautiful piece that narrates the story of identity, family, and following your dreams against all odds. Helmed by Diane Paragas, the film goes through the journey of Eva Noblezada as Rose, a talented, young Filipina immigrant living for the purpose of being able to shortly become a country music star. It's a movie that is both a testament to resilience and belonging's cumbersomeness; it's set against all of the vibrant music scenes in Texas. Noblezada is soulful, supported by powerful work from Lea Salonga as her protective aunt and by country musician Dale Watson. Threaded with sincere storytelling, "Yellow Rose" makes the musical score evocative, alive after the credits roll, casting a new light on the American dream and on the power of music to bridge cultures.

I just screened this movie at the 2019 San Diego Asian Film Festival to a packed house! The audience, although made up of many with a Filipino background - was still quite diverse with other ethnic backgrounds.

This movie depicted what many undocumented families are facing in America today. We don't quite often hear of the Filipino experience, so this was very eye opening and emotional, as our fellow neighbors/friends may be going through this personally and we may not be aware.

Once this movie is widely released, I encourage you to bring your family and friends to watch! This is such a relevant story! Kudos to the director for bringing Filipino perspectives to the big screen. Filipinos are not only great singers or produce beauty queens, but they have Important stories to tell, especially in this film with a fantastic cinematic debut by Eva Noblezada and backed by the supporting actors and a great soundtrack!

Finally, a film that legitimately makes you feel good without burying you in sugar. Rose (newcomer Eva Noblezada) in soulfully good Yellow Rose is a 17-year-old Filipina from rural Texas whose motel-maid mom Priscilla (Princess Punzalen) is about the be a guest of ICE, making Rose a figurative orphan without any backup.

Hidden in Rose's beautiful spirit is a hankering to sing country music although she first needs to sing for others, not just herself. After she avoids ICE herself, she meets some kind folk who will not only help her have a place to live but also give her a chance to sing.

The strength of this music/drama is that nothing is easy and nothing comes soon enough. When she meets real singer Dale Watson (a white-haired accomplished singer before the camera and in the vibrant world of honky-tonk Texas night life), her epiphany slowly begins.

However, in between meeting Dale, writing a song for him, and singing her first composition in front of a pleasant Dale-centered crowd, Rose has to struggle with mom's wish for her to come to Manila and her own sense of home already in Texas. The film is strong because it doesn't amplify the realities and the sentiment; it just lets Rose find her way on her own.

In a way, Jessie Buckley's Rose-Lynn in Wild Rose as a Grand 'Ol aspirant mirrors Rose in Yellow, only with more flamboyant songs and melodrama. Both films draw you in to the characters because of the actors' charm and talent. Yellow Rose has less music and conflict than Wild Rose but a sweeter take on the heroine's ambition: Although Rose barely registers on the emotion meter, her underlying passion is undeniable.

In Yellow Rose the music is sweet and low, especially when Dale sings (He steals the shot every time-now that's charisma). Like this gentle drama, Rose bubbles up to the top and stays with you like a simple country song.