Blood of My Blood (2007) User Reviews

A wonderful eye-opener which leaves us all touched

[pizzazzman2000 · 8/10 · 14 June 2009]

I went to see this movie, with a view to getting a grip on the behind-the-scenes real-life struggles in the realm of the rampant illegal immigration. To sum it up, I left the big-screen room, with an embedded emblem in my mind which had inscribed on it "poverty,hunger, and desperation can trigger the barbaric side of us".

Some brilliant acting from the four principal characters: Diego, Juan, Pedro, and Magda. In fact, it was their virtuoso contribution that gave the flick its unfolding narrative, which nicely touches upon the dogfight arena that we rarely get to hear about even today. A movie which surely keeps you glued to the screen till the very last second it leaves the screen. Definitely worth its salt.

A good job by Christopher Zalla.. From the very beginning, we could see that Juan, innocent as he was deep inside, could not resist the madness inside him that was triggered by his struggle, desperation, hunger, etc, similar to the spontaneous effects of gravity in this universe. Each man for himself. No friendship. If anything similar to friendship, then conditions for cooperation. A nice rule/formula, played out nicely not only in this movie, but also within the real-life framework of the illegal immigrant society, facing deportation the moment they are in the hands of the cops. For them, they know only one language : "struggle", with it's only words :"food","money","shelter".

I'd recommend this film to anyone who either has not woken up to the reality of cruelty and hardships which illegal immigrants in the US face, or who questions it in any way. A nice eye-opener for us.

An excellent Film Noir

[celr · 8/10 · 9 December 2009]

This may not be a great film, but it is a very good one. It's about two young men from Mexico who enter the US illegally and wind up in New York. It is in the convention of film noir, that is the characters, under the pressure of hard times their own weaknesses and their need to survive, are doomed from the start. Other reviews here have suggested that the plot is too contrived and unbelievable, but this is a feature of film noir, fate intervenes to frustrate the good impulses of the characters and accentuates the bad. I found the drama compelling and the characters believable. There is no moral here, no uplifting commentary; fate has them in its clutches and as in Greek drama the characters appear to have free will but are really caught up in the inevitable downward spiral.

I will not give away any of the plot twists but this film kept me guessing. Nothing was predictable or commonplace. There was no overt message about the plight of immigrants except the movie conveys a powerful impression of what it must feel like to be an illegal immigrant in a big city without money, friends or support. But the movie isn't a political tract, it is a gripping drama meant to entertain, not instruct. It is very like a lot of the 'B' movies of the 40s and 50s, products of entertainment which become art in themselves. On the other hand it reminded me a lot of "The Bicycle Thief" by Vittorio de Sica.

Padre Nuestro : Mexican Masterpiece?

[gmf45 · 8/10 · 9 April 2008]

Sometimes a film with certain narrative or structural weaknesses has so much excellence in its content that you are well rewarded if you just throw out your criticisms and enjoy the moments as they unfold.

"Sangre de mi Sangre" (the better title is the original "Padre Nuestro") was just given two showings at the Chicago Latino Film Festival. It's a film that deserves wider distribution. Perhaps overlong, and with a plot that is rather too complex and relies on coincidence a bit too much, this movie nevertheless sucks you emotionally into the lives of its characters, Mexican immigrants living at the margins in New York City. The core of the movie is the story of the two young Mexicans trying in their separate ways to survive in an alien environment. The plot revolves around stolen identity and personal interconnections as the two protagonists try to gain security through money or through relationships. The story recalls another masterpiece of ambivalence, "The Son", and I'll say no more, except to indicate that the conclusion of the action is richly satisfying, if harsh. Just a word about the performances: the director is clearly a genius at handling actors. The leads give virtuoso turns to their characterizations, and the cast throughout shows never a false note.

Good cast making the most out of an impossible script!

[NBernard88 · 6/10 · 2 November 2008]

Despite a good cast and great directing, the first noticeable thing about Sangre De Mi Sangre is the improbabilities of the screenplay. Pedro a young man easily crosses over the Mexican/U.S. border with a truck waiting (unhidden) to take illegal immigrants on a rather rapid, non-stop trip to New York City. He is looking for his father who he believes is the owner of a French restaurant by stopping at every one listed in the yellow pages. It's like a series of unlikely events.

While in the truck he meets Juan and tells him his story. Juan decides to steal Pedro's identity to take advantage of the situation. Pedro tries to find his father by the help of Magda, a rough around the edges girl who uses her smarts to survive. As dubious as the story may seem, it is never predictable. Pedro doesn't fall in love with Magda but does care for her sincerely. Pedro's father Diego doesn't welcome a deceitful Juan in open arms even after he believes that he is his son. However, Diego comes to love Juan and what's strange is that Juan grows to love him as a father too. The relationship between the two of them is the strongest in the film.

Pedro's scenario is more of a story of hard knocks. He learns that he can't trust everyone and how to survive on the rough streets. He must do things against his convictions for money even compromising Magda. He's not as cunning as Juan is and is much more noble. The antagonism between the two characters is apparent even though they are only together for two scenes in the film.

The actors elevate the weak material particularly Jesus Ochoa (Diego) who manages to make the most mundane things, like sewing faux rose petals, interesting. Armando Hernandez plays Juan's impersonation of Pedro is so believable that if the film began twenty minutes in; there would no reason to believe that he wasn't Diego's son. Jorge Adrian Espindola's (Pedro) innocence and Paola Mendoza's (Magda) brashness compliment each other. It would have been great to see what they could've done if they had better material.

Better than Slumdog

[doctorsmoothlove · 7/10 · 5 April 2010]

What I've discovered in Sangre de mi Sangre, a recent thriller about two Mexican boys who go to New York, is the movie I thought Slumdog Millionaire would be. This is a genuine film about living in poverty and maybe surviving it. Slumdog is an unjust combination of positive thinking and Hollywood clichés that results in a severe lack of authenticity. It may have been an effort to depict India's economic landscape, yet its sanitized, unrealistic story undermines the effort to present poverty holistically. Sangre avoids this simple mistake by showing us potentially real people in a situation entirely conceivable. It also takes place in a wealthy country and forces us to focus our attention squarely on the poor characters.

Pedro and Juan are two older teenagers who pay off a good ol' boy to enter the United States. They may be of similar age, but Pedro is much less experienced at being an adult. He's idealistic that he will meet his father in New York City and live the American dream. His father is said to own a restaurant. Juan is less calculated and more opportunistic. He is going to New York because that's where a lot of immigrants go. The two meet on the bus ride up there, and Juan slips away with Pedro's documentation and, thus, his identity.

In New York, a distraught Pedro wanders around until he meets another impoverished Spanish speaker in Magda. She has the distinction of being a U.S. citizen that can speak both languages. She originally attempts to have him arrested since it would invigorate her droll life of selling trinkets and sex. The two of them fall into an awkward, survivalist love. As nice as it is to have another person around, you still have to think about yourself on occasion. Pedro is scarcely able to do this and rescues Magda from a pervert who pays him for use of her body. He would've gained fifty bucks too.

Juan has no qualms with living ruthlessly in New York. He meets the father character and convinces him he is Pedro. The old man is just an employee at a restaurant and has been emotionally hardened due to years of lonely labor. He doesn't respond the way Juan wants him to at first. Juan preserves and partially fulfills the sueño americano by earning some money and the old man's trust. He now has the money to get laid. Who do you think he consults? Pedro sees him and attacks him, and the fitter boy wins.

It is hard not to see the biological influence in this film. It takes place in 21st century New York and Darwin's wisdom still applies. The circumstances have changed, but the more dominant male triumphs over the lesser one. Juan is the narrative's antagonist despite his being the natural hero. It's rare for a domestic movie to be so blunt.

The filmmakers do not make a stance as to which side they support. The film is almost a documentary in its unbiased focus on each of its main characters. Pedro's part is more memorable because it provides the human focus needed in this fictional film. Everything in Juan's life is based on his imperative to survive. His parts are rather boring with forced humor about his out of touch views regarding women. We didn't want to see a movie about Juan, but as this film is a dissertation on poverty, he had to be the winner.

suspenseful tale with told with deep character development

[joelbarrybrandt · 9/10 · 26 April 2008]

My wife and I saw Padre Nuestro, now called Sangre De Mi Sangre at a special showing at the Institute of Contemporary Art in Boston and were treated to a question and answer session by the Director/writer, Christopher Zalla. The name of the movie was changed from Padre Nuestro to its new title in Mexico where it had a fairly wide distribution to avoid confusion with an earlier light weight comedy made in Chile with the same title. This movie is anything but light weight as it revolves around the gritty life experiences of illegal aliens struggling to survive in the United States in a dog eat dog world.

This movie contains wonderful performances from each of its four principal characters and Jesus Ochoa (Diego), who is the most well recognized of the Mexican cast, fills the screen with a performance as large as his girth. Armando Hernandez (Juan) deserves mention for an equally powerful performance with only a slightly lesser efforts from Jorge Adrian Espindola (Pedro) and Paola Mendoza (Magda, which certainly did not detract from the excellence of this film.

Filmed on location in a gritty industrial section of Brooklyn, the story contains a sense of believability with only a modest level of contrivance necessary to develop a credible, seamless story line. A powerful movie, which measured up to its success at the Sundance film festival in 1987. The movie will have a limited release in the United States at a single theatre in five city's during the month of May, 2008, so it may not be widely seen, which would be a shame. I look forward to seeing Christopher's next film which we are told will be set in a Bolivian prison for Brad Pitt's Plan B Entertainment and which may star Don Cheadle.

Amazing Film

[filippobozotti · 9/10 · 10 May 2008]

I saw this film at Sundance -- and was blown away -- it is a fascinating film and extremely well done. There are a lot of different ways to look at the immigration issue, but I think that Chris Zalla chose a unique path. However, what was so beautiful about this film is that it is not an immigration movie -- that is what I loved. It was a human story. A family story. Painful, but uplifting all at the same time. I was riveted by the actors, especially Paola Mendoza, who I think is incredibly talented. I hope that films like this can open up a dialogue about the immigration issue in this country, as I think that it is time for us, as a nation, deal with this problem. I look forward to seeing the film again.

A good director who should stick to directing

[larry95 · 4/10 · 18 May 2008]

Mr. Zalla is a very good director, he gets wonderful performances from the actors and demonstrates a great sense of visual composition. However the writing is sloppy at best, the story does not hold water, is filled with inconsistencies and maintains a gruesome, almost sordid tone to a movie that could have said just as much about the condition of immigrants without stripping them of their humanity. That the characters are flawed is expected, but must they all be beyond hope of redemption? A day after seeing this movie, I am still making lists of all the details that did not add up or were entirely too coincidental for such an otherwise "realistic" movie. The soundtrack by Brian Cullman is excellent. One wishes there was more of it.

A Powerful Story About Immigrant Journeys

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 10 October 2008]

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

Pathetic attempt at being deep.

[jesufer054 · 5/10 · 30 May 2016]

The acting is unbelievable, almost as unbelievable as the plot. The movie advances its plot on coincidences and is not what I expected.

The director seemed to look for a convoluted plot to appear smart and gritty, but at the same time, one of the characters is so extremely naive. The message given at the end of the movie is that being cunning outweighs good intention, yet I wonder how did the good character was able to advance so far in a city such as New York.

Overall the plot ends taking everything down that the acting brings forward. Jesus Ochoa is a step above all the actors in this movie, and did as good as possible as his character let him do.

The other side of Under the Same Moon

[peeingblacksheep · 9/10 · 21 December 2008]

This movie really really amazed me and also kind of renewed my faith in Mexican cinema, although it is set in New York. As mentioned on this page, I definitely saw it as a counterpoint to Under the Same Moon, and it even features one of the same actors. It shows the side of (illegal) immigration that turns respectful, principled people into criminals and liars (and vice versa I would say). In his book "Las peliculas de mi vida" Alberto Fuguet quotes an el salvadorian cab driver as saying that everyone in El Salvador is a criminal but once they reach the USA they are all about helping each other. This movie, of course, attests to the contrary. It forces viewers to question their views about the plight of illegal immigrants, obviously, but also raises questions about the idea of entitlement and family. I can't recommend it enough, not only to fans of Latin American cinema, but to any North American who wants to see how bad the illegal immigrant experience can be.

Also excellent performances by the whole cast, but for me Armando Hernandez stole the show. I had only seen him previously in "Amar te duele," so obviously this was a pleasant surprise for me, but he oscillates between mildly menacing and downright sinister and despicable in a performance that affected me more than anything I've seen in a while. I'm sure he'll be getting some roles worthy of him based on this performance. Honorable mention as well to Juan Diego and Paola Mendoza, they were great.

For me, this is the kind of movie that I want to show to everyone I know, just because it is the kind of movie that made me question many ideas held by Mexicans and North Americans about the American dream. I think that although it is a much darker picture of Mexican entrance into America, it does coincide with Under the Same Moon in that very strong ties, and sometimes even familial ties, are formed based on shared language and/or experience. Watch this movie!

Unpredictable, original, and one of the best of the year

[aharmas · 10/10 · 18 May 2008]

Mexican and Spanish cinema have been giving us some remarkable films lately. From the psychological horror of "The Orphanage" to the complex "Amores Perros", those films are interesting, original, and show us that it is still possible to tell a good story. Here comes a new film, "Sangre de Mi Sangre", and it delivers in all possible ways.

The film follows a young Mexican immigrant in his quest to find his unknown father in Brooklyn. Such a quest becomes problematic, as he has no documentation, speaks no English, is illiterate, and he happens to run into another young man who might have an agenda that might become lethal to a few of the main characters in the film.

"Sangre" is difficult to categorize as it keeps surprising us with the different scenarios it explores. There are moments when it is the other side of the story told in "Under The Same Moon", being so different in his stark and unsentimental approach. In addition to showing the underbelly of a supposedly civilized world, we become witness to the plight of people who have very few resources and sometime fall prey to even their own kind.

In this film there are clear differences among the immigrants, shown at times as supportive, but we can also read an undercurrent of resentment and lack of sympathy for individual cases. The film feels very real as it portrays the consequences of living in a world that forces you to ignore your humanity and prevents you from creating any bonds with other people in order to survive. It is an existence where the real self is not allowed to surface because it is too dangerous.

The acting in the film is phenomenal as stereotypes are abandoned and individual portrayals show characters ranging from innocent to perverse with much clarity. Even supporting types are given enough time for us to understand how they are important parts of the fabric of society. "Sangre" follows many of the patterns in "No Country for Old Men", with the introduction of another character that has very few if any redeeming qualities, a human being with a past that might be so horrible that it led to the creation of a monster. There are twists and ironies that will leave many in the audience quite upset, and be prepared to face a dark portrayal that offers very little in the way of hope.

"Sangre" shows what an artist of the technical ability of Scorcese is able to do if he rains himself and keeps control over the story over the technical. It is an amazing work of art, one that will have many discussing it for weeks.