Gregory Nava Movies
Filmmaker Gregory Nava is a director with an uncanny knack for capturing the epic drama of ordinary lives. Educated at the U.C.L.A. film school, Nava made an auspicious debut in the mid-'70s with Confessions of Amans. Filmed on a low budget with a script written by himself and his wife, Ann Thomas (also a filmmaker), it earned the Chicago International Film Festival Best First Feature Award in 1976. His 1983 film El Norte, a moving chronicle of Guatemalan Mayan Indians who leave the repression of their homeland to make new lives in California, earned him and Thomas an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay. Nava's 1995 film My Family/Mi Familia likewise impressed with its magical realism and seamless blend of pathos and comedy; like El Norte and the less successful Time of Destiny (1988), the film contains strong cultural themes that deal with the lives of an immigrant family trying to find their way in the U.S. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide- 2010
The Yari Film Group moves forward with the biopic of Pablo Escobar with director Joe Carnahan heading up the adaptation of the book Killing Pablo: The Hunt for the World's Greatest Outlaw by author Mark Bowden. The film will follow the exploits of a Delta Force squad headed by Christian Bale as they hunt down the famed drug trafficker with the help of the DEA, CIA, and Columbian military. ~ Jeremy Wheeler, All Movie Guide
The celebrated Latino director Gregory Nava (American Family) helmed, scripted, and co-produced (with star Jennifer Lopez) Bordertown - a suspense thriller with an A-list Hispanic cast. Lopez portrays Lauren Adrian, an American correspondent from a Chicago newspaper, who longs to cover the U.S. occupation of Iraq. Instead, Lauren's mentor at the paper, George Morgan (Martin Sheen) reassigns her to Mexico. She is promptly shuttled off to Juarez, a troubled community on the Texas-Mexico border rattled by a series of brutal, unsolved homicides. The victims - all young women, employed in the maquilla plants that manufacture electrical components for exportation to the U.S. - are uniformly found raped and strangled to death. One of those women, Eva, manages to escape her captors (who believe her dead) and flees not to the corrupt police, but to the local newspaper. There, her life intersects with those of Lauren and Lauren's former boyfriend and lover, the reporter Alfonso Diaz (Antonio Banderas). Suddenly, Lauren foresees, in the prospect of reporting Eva's story, an assignment that could bring her closer to Iraq than she ever dreamed possible. Sonia Braga (Kiss of the Spider Woman), Maya Zapata and Juan Diego Botto co-star. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Maya Zapata, Jennifer Lopez, (more)
After being attached to a number of actors, directors, and producers, this long-gestating biography of one of Mexico's most prominent, iconoclastic painters reaches the screen under the guiding hand of producer/star Salma Hayek. Hayek ages some 30 years onscreen as she charts Frida Kahlo's life from feisty schoolgirl to Diego Rivera protégée to world-renowned artist in her own right. Frida details Kahlo's affluent upbringing in Mexico City, and her nurturing relationship with her traditional mother (Patricia Reyes Spindola) and philosophical father (Roger Rees). Having already suffered the crippling effects of polio, Kahlo sustains further injuries when a city bus accident nearly ends her life. But in her bed-ridden state, the young artist produces dozens upon dozens of pieces; when she recovers, she presents them to the legendary -- and legendarily temperamental -- Rivera (Alfred Molina), who takes her under his wing as an artist, a political revolutionary, and, inevitably, a lover. But their relationship is fraught with trouble, as the philandering Rivera traverses the globe painting murals, and Kahlo languishes in obscurity, longing to make her mark on her own. Frida was directed by Julie Taymor, whose Broadway production of The Lion King won her international acclaim. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Salma Hayek, Alfred Molina, (more)
Beyond the fact that it was seen on PBS, the dramatic series American Family bore no relation to the classic docudrama series of the 1970s. Created by filmmaker Gregory Nava, the series focused on a "typical" Latino family in East L.A., and as such was the only program on "regular" TV to feature an almost exclusively Latino cast. Edward James Olmos starred as patriarch Jess Gonzalez, a Korean war veteran, barber, and staunch conservative. Jess often found himself at ideological war with his daughter Nina (Constance Marie), a feminist attorney who'd returned to the family home in the wake of a personal tragedy. Also on hand was Jess' semi-estranged wife Berta (Sonia Braga); his older son Esteban (Esai Morales), a recent prison parolee who struggled to maintain custody of his own son Pablito (Austin Noah Marques); younger offspring Cisco, who incessantly videotaped his family and posted his handiwork on his own website; and the family's zany Aunt Dora (Raquel Welch), who, perhaps inevitably, lived next door. According to Gregory Nava, the series' dramatic thrust was that the Gonzalezes were "trying to deal with their identity -- who they are, where they came from, and where they are now." American Family began its 12-episode run on January 23, 2002. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Edward James Olmos, Raquel Welch, (more)
- 2000
Gregory Nava weaves together a series of first hand accounts of the immigrant experience in America for this emotionally powerful, unabashedly-patriotic documentary. Polish Jew Murray Schneider recalls the exultant joy he felt when he was finally reuniting with his family in Ellis Island, while Chinese immigrant Li Keng Wong remembers being forced to lie about his ethnicity in order to circumvent America's draconian anti-Chinese immigration laws. Janie Chatman recalls migrating from her hometown in Alabama (where her former slave father was born) to Chicago in 1940, looking for an escape to the racism and segregation in the South. The final profile concerns the plight of illegal immigrant Eva Canseco, who flees her squalid shanty in Tijuana for a shot at the good life in California. ~ Jonathan Crow, All Movie Guide
Gregory Nava directed this biographical drama on the brief but intense life of singer Frankie Lymon who stayed with the popular Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers group only for a year. Lymon was 13 years old when the group erupted from radios and jukeboxes with their 1956 hit, Why Do Fools Fall in Love? and appeared in the movie Rock, Rock, Rock (1956). After Mr. Rock and Roll (1957), Lymon turned solo, but then it all fell to pieces. Lymon's career was over by the time he was 18, and he died of a heroin overdose eight years later. Jumping from the '50s to the '80s, this film traces the rise and fall of Lymon (Larenz Tate) in a series of flashbacks as courtroom claims on Lymon's royalties are outlined by three women: Zola Taylor (Halle Berry) of the Platters R&B group; Elizabeth Waters (Vivica A. Fox), who turned prostitute to cover costs of Lymon's recovery from addiction; and schoolteacher Emira Eagle (Lela Rochon). Little Richard also makes a courtroom appearance, while Miguel A. Nunez Jr. portrays Little Richard in scenes set in the '50s. Shown at the 1998 Urbanworld Film Festival (NY). ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Halle Berry, Vivica A. Fox, (more)
Selena Quintanilla was a major figure in Tejano music, a Grammy-winning recording artist, a beloved star in the American Southwest and Mexico, and seemed poised to cross over into mainstream popularity on the U.S. pop charts when she was murdered on March 31, 1995 by the president of her fan club. Written and directed by Gregory Nava, this biopic concentrates on Selena's relationship with her family and her rise to fame, dealing only briefly with her tragic death. Abraham Quintanilla (Edward James Olmos) is a veteran musician who leads a family-based singing group, The Dinos. At a young age, he notices that his daughter Selena (played as a child by Becky Lee Meza) has a strong singing voice, and he works her into the act (her big number is a version of Over the Rainbow). However, as she grows older, Selena (played as an adult by Jennifer Lopez) wants to establish her own musical identity; while her heritage is Mexican-American, her primary language is English, and her favorite artists are American pop acts like Donna Summer. While Selena and Abraham sometimes argue about the musical direction of the group, he always respects and supports her talent, and her blend of Tejano roots music and danceable pop rhythms soon sparks a revolution in Latin music. Selena later earns the wrath of her father when she becomes romantically involved with Chris Perez (Jon Seda), a rebellious and long-haired guitarist hired to play with the group, but when they elope and Selena convinces Abraham that their love is sincere, Chris is welcomed into the family. After a long string of successes on the Latin charts and playing to a sellout crowd at the Houston Astrodome and a crowd of 100,000 at a stadium in Monterey, Mexico, Selena begins recording her first album in English, which is expected to make her a mainstream star on the level of Whitney Houston or Gloria Estefan. However, the fates decreed it was an album she would never complete. Selena was produced with the participation of the Quintanilla Family (Abraham was executive producer), and Selena's own recordings were used on the soundtrack. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jennifer Lopez, Rebecca Lee Meza, (more)
Featuring Jennifer Lopez in her first major big-screen role, Gregory Nava's My Family traces three generations of the Sanchez's, a Mexican-American family living in East Los Angeles. Beginning in the 1930s, the film outlines the struggles faced by Jose (Jacob Vargas) and Maria (Lopez) as a recently immigrated married couple raising a family. As Jose and Maria age, the focus shifts to their son, Jimmy (Jimmy Smits), as he starts his own family in the 1960s. While Lopez' role was uncredited, she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance. My Family has also been released under the titles My Family, Mi Familia, Cafe Con Leche, and East L.A. ~ Matthew Tobey, All Movie Guide
- 1988
- PG13
Martin (William Hurt) and Jack (Timothy Hutton) are World War II soldiers who go from being army buddies to bitter enemies during the war in this uneven melodrama. Not realizing they are brothers-in-law, Martin eventually learns that Jack is married to his sister Josie (Melissa Leo). On their wedding night, Josie's father Jorge (Francisco Rabal) had abducted her in an attempt to dominate her with his old-world ideals of marriage. When Jorge drowns in a lake after the car skids off the road, black-sheep Martin returns home to learn of his father's death, vowing to avenge his father after he learns his buddy is his sworn enemy. ~ Dan Pavlides, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Hurt, Timothy Hutton, (more)
El Norte is a realistic picture of both the Guatemalan government's oppression of the Quiche Indians and the hard life of illegal immigrants in the United States. After the Guatemalan army destroys their village of San Pedro, two teenage Quiche Mayan Indian siblings journey north (hence El Norte) through Mexico to the United States to start a new life. The film opens with the destruction of the village and the peasants' pointless appeals to the authorities for justice. Realizing that the government is seizing their land, Enrique and Rosa make the difficult decision to leave their people behind. As they journey through Mexico, the siblings encounter a number of helpful individuals who direct them towards the U.S./Mexican border. There they find a "coyote" (a professional human smuggler) and make the frightening run across border. Once across, Enrique and Rosa are introduced to the impossible realities of life as an illegal immigrant in Los Angeles. Living in constant fear of deportation, they struggle to survive as they are exploited by a series of employers. Eventually, their luck takes a turn for the better when the manager of their motel offers Enrique a job. ~ Brian Whitener, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Zaide Silvia Gutierrez, David Villalpando, (more)
- 1982
- PG
Based on Kate Chopin's moving novel The Awakening, and set in the early 1900s, this drama chronicles the struggle of a young wife to escape the oppressing conventions of society and live life to the fullest. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- 1980
- R
This slow-paced but impeccably stylish ghost story, set at the turn of the century, centers on the plight of elderly dowager Marianna (Sheelagh Gilbey), who is tormented nightly by the alleged specter of a young man roaming the corridors of her decrepit estate. After spotting a face in an old photograph that seems to match the old woman's description of the ethereal visitor, Marianna's sister (Nina Pitt) decides to undertake a bit of amateur ghost-hunting in the hope of revealing the haunting as a hoax. This Scotland-made sleeper from director Anna Thomas is somewhat reminiscent of The Innocents -- itself based on Henry James's "The Turn of the Screw" -- and boasts an excellent classical music score which perfectly complements the proceedings. Though the plot may be a bit too leisurely for more thrill-oriented tastes, The Haunting of M is an involving and intellectual mystery for the Masterpiece Theatre set. ~ Cavett Binion, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Sheelagh Gilbey, Nini Pitt, (more)
- 1976
This costume drama was shot on location in Spain. It tells the story of a traveling student of philosophy who is hired by a lord to tutor his wife. Unfortunately, the teacher soon falls in love with this student. ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- William Bryant
