Nueba Yol (1995)

Welcome to Nueba Yol Balbuena pulls out the keys to his cousin Pedro's overcrowded apartment and makes a failing attempt to open the door. To Balbuena, opening a New York City apartment door is one of the hardest things to do. Nothing compares to opening the door of his "ranchito" back in the Dominican Republic. Unable to speak English, Balbuena finds it difficult to communicate with the police officer, whose gun is pointed directly at him. He unsuccessfully tries to speak to him in Spanish and says that he is new in this country, but to the police officer this means nothing. His failed attempt to open the door has convinced him that Balbuena belongs to the group of the drug dealers who were just caught right outside of his apartment building . Nueba Yol is a comic film, written, produced and directed by Angel Muniz, who is also widely known in the Dominican Republic for his other two films, Perico Ripiao and Ladrones a Domicilio. Nueba Yol was released in 1995. Receiving a rating of 7/10 from the Internet Movie Database (IMDb), this film is the first out of three volumes. The main actors are Caridad Ravelo as Nancy, Raul Corbonell as Fellito, Joel Garcia as Pancho and the protagonist, Luisito Marti, who was also a musician, comedian and producer, as Balbuena, his iconic character. After this film Marti was recognized, not only for his character in this film but for his work as a musician and comedian as well. After the death of his fiancé, Balbuena receives a small fortune, which he uses to buy a home in the Dominican Republic. His desire to experience living in New York is so intense that when his friend Fellito offers to help him get to the United States, he risks losing his home to buy a visa. His first experience in New York is accidentally getting hit by a car. This is where he meets Nancy, a Dominican woman who will soon be returning to the Dominican Republic. She is also one of the people who helps Balbuena in New York. They developed a friendship which quickly turned into a romance. Unfortunately, Nancy's time in New York is limited and she is forced to leave Balbuena behind. He also meets Pancho, a local restaurant owner. Being an immigrant himself, he is able to look past the fact that Balbuena doesn't have working papers and gives him his first job opportunity. The film heavily focuses on Balbuena's relationship with these two characters, who end up heavily influencing Balbuena's final outcome. Although the film is presented as a comedy, it holds a lot of truth. The film successfully shows the experience of a foreign person who is in New York for the first time. Balbuena, like most immigrants when first coming to New York, doesn't speak English and is faced with a language barrier. As an outcome he gets into certain situations that could have been avoided if he knew English. Another situation that a lot of people deal with is not having shelter. Although Balbuena had family in New York and was able to stay with his cousin Pedro for some time, eventually he had to leave and find a place of his own. A lot of people overstay their welcome with their families and are forced to try and make it on their own. The issue of employment is another topic that was presented in this film. Being an undocumented immigrant like Balbuena can make it hard to find a job. Many are forced to jump from job to job and settle for whatever little pay the employers offer. I recommend this film to any young adult/adult or anyone who is interested in knowing more about the experience of a person who goes to the United States in search of their "American dream." Some of the situations that Balbuena is faced with in this film aren't pleasant and are situations that people, in particular some immigrants, can relate to. Despite all the hardship that is presented in this film, Balbuena's optimistic attitude throughout the movie and the fact that the film was made into a comedy makes it easier for the film to be viewed. In a way the comedy sugarcoats the harsh reality of the film. I liked this movie because although at times it was a bit exaggerated, it still represented real life events. I also liked Balbuena's character: he was very optimistic, hardworking and determined. I think it's very important that Balbuena's character had these qualities because it showed that succeeding in a foreign place doesn't only depend on a person's attitude but on the place itself. I also feel that his optimism kept the film from becoming a sob story of a young Dominican man who failed trying to make it in New York.

What apparently has been an essential aspect of Dominican pop culture for nearly two decades managed to achieve high status on the island even with its minimalist budget. Unfortunately the sound quality is generally poor, and the quality of the acting is inconsistent, the story is heartwarming and Balbuena quickly becomes the most loved and well-known character in the Dominican Republic. Balbuena is a man barely making ends meet a few short years after the death of his beloved wife. His dream has always been to go to the United States, or Nueba Yol more specifically. His friend, Fellito presents him with a seeming chance of a lifetime to go to the United States for a comparatively small price illegally. However, as goes most stories about immigrants to the US, Balbuena learns the US isn't quite everything it was said to be as he encounters cultural hostility, run-ins with the law, and financial instability. However, throughout it all, Balbuena remains true to his character: hardworking, endearing, and loving. The story is a good one, even though it is fairly well-known (a poor and destitute, lovable character has no option but to flee illegally to the US to realize his dream of wealth and prosperity only to discover soon after that it is not all it was hoped to be). I would recommend it, despite it's general failure to appeal to American audiences.

I had just seen this movie. I thought it was good but I didn't find it as funny as some have. The character Balbuena was funny in a child like way, but the story itself was a bit depressing.The ending was somewhat confusing for me, pero I'm glad it was a happy one. I really liked the way the family discussed the differences between raising children in the US and in D.R. Its true, and it hasn't always been this way in the US, it was more like Balbuena and his cousin described it.Over all I liked the movie, but it went a bit too fast in some areas (like the relationship between Balbuena and Nancy)and some characters didn't get a chance to fully develop.

This is a well made comedy with funny, but not exaggerated, jokes. The downside is the introduced love-affair which is not very convincing. Combines reality and comedy very well.