Gustavo Laborie Movies
Featuring the final screen appearance of Mexican screen legend Katy Jurado, director Leopol Laborde's touching tale of friendship offers an affecting study on the influence others can have on our lives. As a rebellious teen growing up in Mexico in the early 1980s, Jorge (Imanol Landeta) struck up an unlikely friendship with reclusive senior citizen Esperanza (Jurado) after sneaking into what he thought was an abandoned house. As Jorge seeks refuge from his everyday trouble at home and school in the company of the wise old stranger, their bond strengthens and Esperanza teaches the young troublemaker the value of life and the wonders of his Mexican heritage. Devastated when Esperanza passes away shortly thereafter, young Jorge takes her wisdom and attempts to make the best of his situation in life. Watching the news fifteen years later, Jorge notices a picture of his old friend as the reporter mournfully recounts the anniversary of the death of the first Latin-American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature. Taking a journey into the past upon visiting Esperanza's memorial, Jorge slowly begins to rediscover the valuable lessons taught to him by his long lost friend. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Katy Jurado, Imanol Landeta, (more)
An ex-mercenary (Tom Berenger) becomes a take-no-prisoners teacher in a drug-ridden, gang-infested Miami high school in this campy morality tale about restoring lost American virtues to the inner city. Berenger's character, Shale, has no first name, a shadowy past as a patriotic gun-for-hire, and is temporarily unemployed and living with an idealistic teacher, Jane Hetzko (Diane Verona). Jane has angered a school gang leader, Juan Lucas (Marc Anthony), by asking the principal to get him transferred after he has threatened her in the schoolyard. After Jane is kneecapped by a gang member, Shale fakes a resume and becomes a substitute teacher, Mr. Smith. He lectures his class on the lessons of Vietnam ("We were fighting Communism") while looking for a way to get revenge on Juan. When he challenges the school's tolerance for student misbehavior, Smith is fired by the slimy principal, Claude Rolle (Ernie Hudson), an ex-cop who is running for City Council and doesn't want to rock the boat. Shale stays because he cites a union rule requiring two weeks' notice. During that period, tensions escalate and eventually Shale intervenes in a gang war that degenerates into a school-destroying inferno of violence. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Berenger, Ernie Hudson, (more)
Old and new loves are turned upside down through a complex case of mistaken identities in this romantic comedy-drama. In 1980, Juan Raul Perez (Alfred Molina) is released from a Cuban prison after spending 20 years behind bars and is allowed to join a mass emigration to the U.S. While Juan was incarcerated, his wife Carmela Perez (Anjelica Huston) escaped to Florida with their daughter, and Juan lives for the day when they can be reunited. En route to Miami, Juan meets Dottie Perez (Marisa Tomei), a fiery young woman who wants to leave behind her career as a prostitute. Juan and Carmela miss finding each other when his boat reaches Miami, and immigration personnel mistakenly assume that Juan and Dottie Perez are husband and wife; when they learn that families tend to find American sponsors much faster than individuals, they play along with the mistake, even convincing other Perezes to pose as their child and grandfather. Juan discovers that trying to renew an old relationship isn't easy as one tries to start a new life, especially since Carmela has attracted the attentions of police lieutenant John Pirelli (Chazz Palminteri). Cuban jazz legend Arturo Sandoval contributed to the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marisa Tomei, Alfred Molina, (more)
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