What happens when you love the country you just migrated to...but it doesn't love you back? And suppose you are an aspiring musician in a style of music that historically has defined the values of that very country? That is the conundrum faced by a teenage girl of Filipina ancestry in YELLOW ROSE.
Eva Noblezada stars as the titular character, Rose Garcia being her actual name, living in a small Texas town not far from Austin, the state capital and capital of the kind of honky-tonk country-and-western music she aspires to sing and play, using her father's beat-up guitar as her method of expression. But what she doesn't know (and has never known) is that her mother (Princess Puzalan) got both of them into this country illegally; and when her mother is taken from her by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, her life goes into absolute turmoil, especially when it's obvious that Puzalan is going to be deported back to Manila, if not also Noblezada.herself.
Fortunately for her, even though her aunt (Lea Salonga) is only marginally sympathetic (and maybe not necessarily even that, in Noblezada's eyes), Noblezada has been writing her own original songs for quite a while, looking for a way to make demo records to show off her abilities, and at least three people help her out: Jolene (Libby Vilari), the owner of the dance hall known as the Broken Spoke; Elliot (Liam Booth); and real-life Texas music legend Dale Watson. With this help behind her, and despite the odds stacked against her by an intolerable immigration situation, Noblezada finds the strength to persevere.
YELLOW ROSE, as directed by long-time documentary filmmaker Diane Paragas, here making her feature film debut (she also co-wrote the screenplay), does tread into the very hot political waters that are the American immigration system, but for the most part it focuses in on Noblezada's pursuit of her version of the American Dream, which is ironically rooted with the same forces trying to throw those of her kind out of this country. Noblezada's acting performance here is one that is equal amounts vulnerability, fierceness, determination, and resilience; and her singing is very authentic sounding as well. Watson's presence here also gives the film the right amount of Texas honky-tonk authenticity.
YELLOW ROSE is definitely a film worth seeing, whether one is a country music fan or just as casual filmgoer, and it gets a '9' from me.
Eva Noblezada stars as the titular character, Rose Garcia being her actual name, living in a small Texas town not far from Austin, the state capital and capital of the kind of honky-tonk country-and-western music she aspires to sing and play, using her father's beat-up guitar as her method of expression. But what she doesn't know (and has never known) is that her mother (Princess Puzalan) got both of them into this country illegally; and when her mother is taken from her by officers from Immigration and Customs Enforcement, her life goes into absolute turmoil, especially when it's obvious that Puzalan is going to be deported back to Manila, if not also Noblezada.herself.
Fortunately for her, even though her aunt (Lea Salonga) is only marginally sympathetic (and maybe not necessarily even that, in Noblezada's eyes), Noblezada has been writing her own original songs for quite a while, looking for a way to make demo records to show off her abilities, and at least three people help her out: Jolene (Libby Vilari), the owner of the dance hall known as the Broken Spoke; Elliot (Liam Booth); and real-life Texas music legend Dale Watson. With this help behind her, and despite the odds stacked against her by an intolerable immigration situation, Noblezada finds the strength to persevere.
YELLOW ROSE, as directed by long-time documentary filmmaker Diane Paragas, here making her feature film debut (she also co-wrote the screenplay), does tread into the very hot political waters that are the American immigration system, but for the most part it focuses in on Noblezada's pursuit of her version of the American Dream, which is ironically rooted with the same forces trying to throw those of her kind out of this country. Noblezada's acting performance here is one that is equal amounts vulnerability, fierceness, determination, and resilience; and her singing is very authentic sounding as well. Watson's presence here also gives the film the right amount of Texas honky-tonk authenticity.
YELLOW ROSE is definitely a film worth seeing, whether one is a country music fan or just as casual filmgoer, and it gets a '9' from me.