Padre Nuestro (2007)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Director:

Christopher Zalla

Writer:

Christopher Zalla (writer)

Release Date:

5 October 2007 (Spain)

Genre:

Drama | Thriller

Plot:

A Mexican boy smuggles himself to Brooklyn to meet his long-lost father - only to have his identity stolen upon arrival by an impostor who seeks to steal the fathers' fortune. |

Plot Keywords:

Smuggle | Mexican | Immigrant

Awards:

1 win & 5 nominations

Cast

Jesús Ochoa	...	Diego
Armando Hernández	...	Juan
Jorge Adrián Espíndola	...	Pedro
Paola Mendoza	...	Magda
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sean Andrew	...	Police Officer #2
Leonardo Anzures	...	Simon
Luis Antonio Aponte	...	Foreman
Jean Brassard	...	Restaurant Owner
Barbara Danicka	...	Polish Woman
Eugenio Derbez	...	Anibal
Ricky Garcia	...	Restaurant Worker
Scott Glascock	...	John
Lev Gorn	...	Rough-Shave
Israel Hernández	...	Ricardo
Yarida Hernandez	...	Woman
Matthew Kehoe	...	Art handler
Jessica Kelly	...	Pig-Tails
Lenny Ligotti	...	Police Officer #1
Edward McGinty	...	US Border Patrol Officer
Randall Newsome	...	Truck Driver
Don Puglisi	...	Jimmy
Greta Quispe	...	Coat Check Girl
Rajiv Rao	...	Store Clerk
Jaime Santiago Sánchez	...	Skinny Man / Old Worker
Santos	...	Cowboy Hat Mexican
Yury Tsykun	...	Russian Man
Juan Villarreal	...	Shopkeeper
Teresa Yenque	...	Senora

Also Known As:

Sangre de mi sangre (USA) (new title) (USA: Spanish title)
Padre nuestro (Argentina) (festival title)

Runtime:

USA:110 min | Argentina:110 min

Country:

USA | Argentina

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Cinergy Pictures

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "At the Movies: (2008-11-26)" (2008)

A Powerful Story About Immigrant Journeys

SANGRE DE MI SANGRE (also known as PADRE NUESTRO) is a fast-paced, raw, and rather brutal indictment against the cruelty immigrants face upon entering this country. Written and directed by Christopher Zalla the film may cover territory becoming a bit overexposed in cinema of late, but the story is so well told and acted that it rises to the top of the films currently available about the experiences immigrants (from Mexico, in this case) endure in trying to better their lives under the torch of the Statue of Liberty!

The film opens in Mexico where a young criminal Juan (Armando Hernández) narrowly escapes his pursuers by jumping over the border fence and landing in a situation where a coyote (corrupt border guard) is loading his truck with immigrants to transport them for cash to New York. The street-wise Juan is one of many stuffed into a truck and happens to sit by a young illiterate lad his age named Pedro (Jorge Adrián Espíndola) who is on his way to meet his father who lives in New York ('a man who owns a restaurant') but whom Pedro has never seen (he carries with him a letter to his father from his recently deceased mother). Through all manner of staging errors and transportation glitches, the two young boys, full of dreams of a better future in America, land in New York. Juan loses his money and his ID and steels from his newfound friend. Pedro encounters a streetwalker named Magda (Paola Mendoza) who promises to help Pedro find his father Diego (Jesús Ochoa). But Jaun has found the dishwasher Diego first, claims to be his son, and causes confusion and discord in Diego's life. How the two lads manage to survive the complexities of life in Brooklyn and are swept up in the raw life of crime that surrounds the lives of illegal immigrants makes for a complicated story, but one filled with unforgettable characters and emotions.

This film had an unfortunately brief run in the theaters. It is a well-made film in every aspect and deserves wider audience which now, on DVD , it just may reach. Highly recommended. Grady Harp