La otra familia (2011) –The Other Family

La otra familia (2011)

Director: Gustavo Loza
Scenario: Gustavo Loza
Genre: Drama
Country: Mexico
Year: 2011
Duration: 100 min
Rating:

Actors: Jorge Salinas, Luis R. Guzman, Ana Serradilla, Bruno Loza, Carmen Salinas, Ana Soler, Nailea Norvind, Juan Rios Cantu, Dominika Paleta, Luis Gerardo Mendez, Andres Almeida, Silverio Palacios, Mario Zaragoza, Alejandro Calva, Alex Bakalarz

 

 

The other family

THE OTHER FAMILY is the story of Hendrix (Bruno Loza), a 7-year-orld child that’s been abandoned by his crack-addict mother Nina (Nailea Norvind). Ivana (Ana Serradilla), her best friend rescues Bruno,
however, she can’t take care of him because of an ongoing trip to Houston with her life partner (Ana Soler), to analyze the possibility of having an in vitro fertilization. Jean Paul (Jorge Salinas) and Chema (Luis Roberto Guzmán), an adult, stable, gay couple, and friends of Ivana, were given the task of taking
care of Hendriz while his mother spends some time in rehab. Patrick (Andrés Almeida), Nina’s lover and dealer is bien chased by Caimán (Mario Zaragoza), a drug warlord, because of a huge debt. In an
attempt to get the money he tries to sell Hendrix to a young, straight couple (Dominika Paleta y Juan Rios) who just lost a baby. While Nina tries to escape rehab in search of her son, Hendrix slowly
adapts to his new lik with Jean Paul and Chema. Patrick’s running out of time and urges Nina to find her misplaced son.

What’s best for Hendrix? Return to his crack-addict? Live with a homosexual couple that will offer him a better life quality? To be sold in an illegal fashion to a straight couple? or Surrender to the authorities and be sent to an foster house?

 

26 September 2011 | by jotix100 (New York)

Jean Paul and Chema are a gay couple that has been together for ten years. One can see their relationship is solid, proved to be real, as they decide to get married. In a macho dominated society the union between two men is a rarity that came to be legal only recently. It is clear these two men are in love and have decided to make a commitment that speaks loudly than words.
When Nina, a drug addict is sent to prison, her young son, Hendrix, is left to fend for himself. A friend, Ivana, a lesbian in a serious relationship with Gloria, decides to bring the boy to her friends Jean Paul and Chema. The men, uneasy at first, take a liking to the little boy whose innocence captures their hearts. After the initial misgivings, the couple end up loving Hendrix. Unfortunately, Nina wants her son back. Because of her connection with unsavory characters, the plight of the boy takes center stage for criminals that want to sell the boy to a wealthy couple. Jean Paul, and especially Chema, will fight to stand by the boy.
Directed by Gustavo Loza with sure hand, this Mexican entry surprises because of the way the subject matter is treated with honesty in dealing with the issue. Mr. Loza, who also wrote the screenplay, presents us with a drama that in other hands might have degenerated into a sensational account of the two gay couples that are being examined. That, and the fate of the boy, with an uncertain future, is examined with a clarity that speaks volumes as to the intentions of the creator of the film.
There are solid appearances by Jorge Salinas and Luis Guzman as Jean Paul and Chema. The actors do a solid job in the way they approached their roles to make them real. Young Bruno Loza, whom one suspects is the son of the director, is perfectly sweet, in a surprising performance. Ana Serradilla, Ana Soler, Nailea Norvind and the great Carmen Salinas contribute to the over all excellence of the film.