As the process of getting Koke and Marisol back home becomes a paperwork nightmare, it is Valentina and Emiliano who are left to get their family home. What ensues are the variables of life that occur to handle the documents and the court system that is a tangled web of pushing and asking. Emiliano finds his calling to help with deportation and migration, managing an arduous process. Unfortunately, any bad behavior, which Koke has had in his past, turns the process against you. As a result, he remains in Mexico, away from his daughter and her mother. Valentina launches a campaign on her mother’s good samaritan status to get her back because they all need her.
America’s Family is a relevant drama, presenting an issue that needs to be addressed. The solution must be big and present for the undocumented and their families who have been ripped apart unnecessarily because of a broken system. Sadly, beatings and discrimination against immigrants are as much a part of the experience as is the blending and understanding of different cultures, which can raise everyone’s level of knowledge and excitement for life. A point to know is that Tourse produced her film in conjunction with the CHIRLA — the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights, California’s largest immigrant rights organization.
“Tourse and her fantastic cast and crew provide a little bit of flavor for the acceptance of all peoples…”
There is also a unique angle here in the form of the female rabbi who gives Jorge sanctuary. She comments on how he makes the best challah bread and points out that he could be Jewish. She mentions his shuckling in prayer, meaning he moves back and forth, which is a Jewish movement when praying. This refers to the Inquisition when people were forced to give up or hide their religion to avoid persecution, and perhaps a look at history repeating itself. Jews did migrate to South America and many other places from Spain.
We’re all connected, which could not be more understood than it is in America’s Family. Tourse and her fantastic cast and crew provide a little bit of flavor for the acceptance of all peoples, their cultures, and existence, which is this nation’s fabric, especially since they filmed on both sides of the border. The use of tech and contemporary communications not only conveys the story’s relevancy and the 21st-century reality of its setting but also adds to the film’s appeal. However, at its core, this is an important call for change and respect.
"…an important call for change and respect."
