August Evening: Review By MovieBuff

I walked into the theater with feelings I don‘t think I have ever felt before watching a movie. For the first time, I was about to watch a movie with a dear friend as one of the main characters. Veronica Loren who I have known for quite a few years (and even sang on stage with her) plays the main female character in the film and I am so proud of her performance. But before I start complimenting or complaining about anything or anyone in the movie, let explain what its about.

Jaime (Pedro Castaneda) and his wife Maria (Raquel Gavia) live together in a poverty-stricken town in Mexico. Their daughter-in-law Lupe (Veronica Loren) lives with them, unable to detach herself from the painful memories of her husband who died tragically four years prior. Then Maria dies unexpectedly and Jaime becomes so distraught that he loses his focus on caring for himself and Lupe. He soon ends up losing his job and his home. Jaime decides to move to San Antonio with Lupe in tow in order to live with his other son Victor, who provides them with a room to stay in. When that doesn’t work out, they try Jaime’s daughter Alice, who lives in a better part of San Antonio with her wealthy husband. Unfortunately for the duo, that doesn‘t work out too well either so the two have to find another place to live and find a way to make ends meet. Lupe lands a job at some factory while Jaime scours the streets and neighborhoods to mow lawns.

The movie is not solely about the hardships of life. It’s also about losing and finding love. Jaime eventually realizes that he can't remain dependent on Lupe's good will and attempts to get her remarried. When the two are introduced to one of Victor’s friends Luis (Walter Perez), Jaime immediately tries to get Lupe hooked up. Completely unwilling at first, Lupe eventually learns to appreciate Luis' careful and sincere advances, and she realizes that change is inevitable for her and Jaime.

Though there are some movie goers that completely dislike subtitled movies due to the constant reading, there are some films that are worth it. Yes, I realize that when you have to take your focus off the screen to read what a character says, you may miss a facial expression or a moment of importance, but not here. This movie is worth the constant reading due to its heartfelt scenes. You feel the connection between Lupe and Jaime, even though they are not blood related. One can see that Lupe was a far better daughter to Jaime then Alice (his real daughter) ever was.

Pedro Castañeda did an amazing job with his character. He has such a great screen presence that you forget he’s a first-time actor. That’s right. This was his first movie and you’ll never believe how he got the part. He was installing wireless networks when he crossed paths with the director/screenwriter/editor. Eska asked if he spoke Spanish and then asked him to read some lines and… presto. What luck, huh? Its amazing how some actors are discovered.

Veronica Loren, also making her feature-film debut, does an excellent job as Lupe, Jaime's former daughter-in-law. Veronica did such a fine job with her role that I literally forgot I was watching a dear friend doing her job as an actress and was mesmerized by the character. Much like what happened to me with Heath Ledger playing the Joker. Ledger portrayed his character so well, I forgot I was watching the actor and believed their was a real character named the Joker. Now, I’m not comparing Loren’s acting ability to Ledger’s (not yet anyway), but she did jump into her character very well. One could feel her pain, her struggles, and even her happiness when she was on screen.

Chris Eska's first feature film is very interesting to say the least. After the film, he and the actors did a Q & A for the audience. I asked what the budget was and I was astounded to find out it was a mere thirty-five thousand dollars. That was money put to well use. The themes of righting wrongs, making amends, the importance of family, and the power of love are all well developed and beautifully presented.

The film, however, is not without flaws. There are way too many scenes where characters say nothing to each other. Now I know it takes guts for any filmmaker (especially someone just igniting a career) to have characters say nothing when they have nothing to say, but there were just too many scenes of that. The problem with August Evening is not its storytelling, but rather its storytelling technique. Instead of focusing on the plot and using the characters to advance the touching tale, the camera lingers too long on unimportant details such as washing dishes, whittling and staring into the sunset. There were quite a few scenes fresh in my mind that I feel could have been cut from the film allowing the runtime to be reduced to about one and a half hours instead of its present long two hours. I wasn't too keen on the score either. The music could've been better as it was too soothing and could've put me to sleep quite easily on some scenes. The flaws, however, don't change the fact that this is a good movie.

Where other films will dazzle you with explosions, car chases, gun play, and other visual extravaganzas, August Evening is a simple story that creates an authenticity beyond most large-budget films. The film is about the loss of loved ones, the unexpected problems life deals us sometimes, and the value of hanging on to those who truly love us, whether they are family or not. Its an amazing film (considering its low budget) and one I was happy to see. As I write this review, the film has a 91% approval rating among critics. Hopefully with mine, it’ll make it 92%. Trust me. Its good.