3 Américas (2007)

América is a young girl of Argentine descent who lives a life of mischief with her aunt and uncle in the United States. Her life drastically changes when her aunt dies and she is sent to live with her grandmother in Argentina, where she has a hard time getting accustomed to the new way of life. The story being told by the director is an interesting one with a lot of potential to impact viewers. However, the movie looses a lot of its value with the lack of good acting, rich dialogue, and an upbeat tempo. The main character becomes sort of exhausting to watch after a while because of the way she acts and how she talks to her friends and family. Moreover, the dialogues between América and her family seemed too simple and raw most times, giving off an uncomfortable feeling for the audience. Lastly, the development of various scenes seemed too slow at times, causing the audience to become bored. The very end however, came about extremely quickly, resolving the plot too abruptly.

This movie is certainly a coming-of-age movie in which América is troubled because of her rough family life. She has to sort through all that has happened to her, and find her own voice and path in life. 3 Américas is a tough movie to watch because of the level of disrespect that América shows to her grandmother, after moving in with her in Argentina. However, there are more positive aspects of the movie that definitely shine through when we witness when her grandmother has a stroke, América turns her attitude around, and helps to take care of her grandmother and her grandmother's house. It is nice to see that América has positive role models in her life, like Sergio, who points her in the right direction. It is interesting to note that in this movie, there is not much continuity of time, and many scenes get cut off. After one is cut off, the next scene appears to be much later, and the viewer is left not knowing exactly what had happened in between. This leaves them wondering what they missed which I think the director may have done on purpose to make the viewer think, and fill in those left out pieces with their own imaginations.

After the death of her aunt, young America is sent to Argentina to live with her bitter and controlling grandmother. It is a difficult transition for the trouble teen that has a history of bad-tempered outbursts and shoplifting. She does not respect her grandmother and refuses to obey her. The plot at the beginning progresses very slowly and the acting by the characters in the scenes in the US leaves something to be desired. Once America arrives in Argentina her transition from rebel to young lady takes place extremely slowly and one wonders if it will ever take place. Though her grandmother seems strict at first, the audience quickly takes her side and feels sorry for all of the difficulties she has to go through because of her granddaughter and her stroke. The music in the movie was perfectly suited to the scenes. At first I was disinterested in the movie and wondered if it would be worth finishing but once America begins her journey to becoming mature the movie is really worth watching.

This is a truly well-made and heartfelt film about a girl growing up in difficult circumstances. There are quite a few films that cover the subject matter, but very few manage to capture it with as much emotion, sincerity and realism as this once does. I can't understand why films like this one are never given the attention they rightfully deserve--films that have something to say and know how to say them, refusing to compromise their integrity or pander to sensationalism--while cinemas are overflowing with dime-a-dozen films that are either remakes or retreads of other movies that were not very good in the first place. In the .22 caliber world of film-making that we currently live in, movies like "3 Americas" are like a .357 magnum.