A Day Without a Mexican (2004)

User Rating:

4.8/10   

Director:

Sergio Arau

Writers:

Sergio Arau (writer)
Yareli Arizmendi (writer)

Release Date:

6 August 2004 (Mexico)

Genre:

Comedy | Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Tagline:

On May 14 there will be no Mexicans in California.

Plot:

One day California wakes up and not a single Latino is left in the state. They have all inexplicably dissappeared, chaos, tragedy, and comedy quickly ensue.

Plot Keywords:

Mexican | Border | Musician | Senator | Scientist

Awards:

3 wins & 2 nominations

Cast

Caroline Aaron	...	Aunt Gigi
Tony Abatemarco	...	Talk Show Host
Melinda Allen	...	Ellen Abercombie (as Melinda R. Allen)
Frankie J. Allison	...	Oficer Carr (as Frankie Jay Allison)
Fernando Arau	...	Undocumented 1
Yareli Arizmendi	...	Lila Rodriguez
Todd Babcock	...	Nick
Maria Beck	...	Officer Sanchez
Yeniffer Behrens	...	Suzy
Arell Blanton	...	Chris
Cassidy Paige Bringas	...	Tracy Abercrombie
Brian Brophy	...	Barney Montana
Pilar Camporredondo	...	Lila's Mom (as Maria Camporredondo Neeley)
Elpidia Carrillo	...	Cata
Larry Carroll	...	Newscaster

Also Known As:

Un día sin méxicanos (Mexico)

MPAA:

Rated R for language and brief sexuality.

Runtime:

USA:100 min | Argentina:100 min (Mar del Plata Film Festival)

Country:

USA | Mexico | Spain

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Brazil:12 | Argentina:16 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

San Diego, California, USA

Company:

Eye On The Ball Films

Trivia:

The scenes on the empty San Diego streets were shot on 1 January, when there are few people about, because the production was unable to pay for closing them.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Senator Abercombie is declaring a state of emergency and telling the reporters the military is conducting reconnaissance missions, the F-16 shown flying into the fog has Washington (state) Air National Guard markings on it.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip: The Christmas Show (#1.11)" (2006)

Soundtrack:

Charrock and Roll

good but flawed

The idea behind this film is quite good, actually, but its execution leaves something to be desired. A mysterious fog surrounds the state of California and communication to the outside world is cut off. With that strange fog comes the disappearance of the entire Mexican population. Which, some actually think is great, until they realize the consequences. The idea that a group of people that are taken entirely for granted are suddenly gone is very good, as in no one realizes how good things were until they change drastically. All of a sudden, there's no fresh fruit or vegetables, crops are rotting because there's no one to pick them, and there are plenty of other jobs that there's no one left to do. Including missing school teaches, INS workers, etc. Just in case anyone thinks that they only jobs Mexicans can do is pick produce. The problem with this film is that in some ways it tries to come off as a goofy comedy but doesn't really succeed there. There are a few good lines and situations though, like the wife of a state Senator that says "Why does everyone think that a rich white man that votes against a minority is a racist?". Yeah, why? I lived in California for 23 years and having Mexican people around is a way of life, they're just other people, they have lives and feelings and YES they do a hell of a lot of the work, so I get the idea behind this film, very well, even though that a lot of the work that is portrayed is work that no one else will do. What's really funny is when welfare recipients and prisoners are brought in to pick oranges on one farmer's ranch, they're absolutely worthless. Like I mentioned, the idea behind the film and some of the "statistics" thrown out at the viewer are good, but the film isn't really strong enough to be awesome, it's merely only good. 7 out of 10.