''My Family'' is a 1995 independent American

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by Gregory Nava, written by Nava and

Anna Thomas Anna Thomas (born July 12, 1948) is a German-born American author, screenwriter, and film producer. She is best known as the author of the 1972 vegetarian cookbook, ''The Vegetarian Epicure'', which contributed to the rise of the vegetarian mov ...

, and starring Jimmy Smits,

Edward James Olmos Edward James Olmos (born February 24, 1947) is an American actor, director, producer, and activist. He is best known for his roles as Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo in ''Miami Vice'' (1984–1989), ''American Me'' (1992) (which he also dir ...

, and

Esai Morales Esai Manuel Morales Jr. (born October 1, 1962) is an American actor. He has had notable roles in the films '' Bad Boys'' with Sean Penn and '' La Bamba'' with Lou Diamond Phillips (1987). His television roles include the PBS 2002 drama series '' ...

. The film depicts three generations of a

Mexican American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

family who emigrated from

Mexico Mexico (Spanish language, Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a List of sovereign states, country in the southern portion of North America. It is borders of Mexico, bordered to the north by the United States; to the so ...

and settled in

East Los Angeles East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

Plot

The story is narrated by the family's oldest son, Paco. The film begins with the father of the family, José Sanchez, making a journey that lasts one year on foot from Mexico to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

. He travels to Los Angeles to meet a distant relative known as ''El Californio,'' who was born in the city when it was still part of Mexico. They become fast friends and grow a corn farm together. However, after several years, ''El Californio'' nears death. Shortly before dying, ''El Californio'' says he wants the following written on his tombstone: :When I was born here, this was Mexico, and where my body lies, this is still Mexico. José meets and marries the love of his life, María, an American

citizen Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection". Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...

. After María is illegally deported to Mexico by the U.S.

federal government A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government ( federalism). In a federation, the self-gover ...

in a mass roundup, she makes it back to

via a long and arduous trip two years later, where she returns home with their new son Chucho. Twenty years later in 1958 or 1959, eldest daughter Irene is getting married. Chucho and Paco have grown up. New additions to the family include Toni, Guillermo "Memo", and brother Jimmy. The film begins to gain momentum after the wedding, when a series of events seal Chucho's fate. One night at a dance hall, Chucho is dancing with his girlfriend, when his rival Butch Mejia starts to bother him. This results in a bloody knife fight between the two, and Chucho accidentally kills him. After this event, Chucho becomes a fugitive of the police. One night when Jimmy is playing ball with his friends, Chucho is shot dead by the

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

right in front of Jimmy. Other members of the family learn of Chucho's death when they hear gunshots and rush to a nearby street. As an ambulance arrives to take Chucho's lifeless body away, Paco narrates how Chucho's whole life had been on borrowed time. The third generation, which takes place another twenty years later in the 1970s and 80s, faces situations such as

acculturation Acculturation is a process of social, psychological, and cultural change that stems from the balancing of two cultures while adapting to the prevailing culture of the society. Acculturation is a process in which an individual adopts, acquires and ...

assimilation Assimilation may refer to: Culture * Cultural assimilation, the process whereby a minority group gradually adapts to the customs and attitudes of the prevailing culture and customs ** Language shift, also known as language assimilation, the prog ...

, and past problems of the family. Jimmy completes a stint in prison and returns home. It is revealed that after Chucho's death 20 years back, Jimmy became an angry man following in his footsteps, becoming a fugitive like him. One day, Toni visits the Sanchez home and stuns her parents with the news that she is no longer a nun and has married a priest named David Ronconi. Toni and David become involved in helping political refugees. When they find out that a Salvadoran refugee, Isabel, has become a target for murder and is being held for deportation back to El Salvador, Toni convinces Jimmy to marry her so that she is able to stay in the U.S. Jimmy is resistant to the idea of being a married man; however, Isabel slowly makes herself at home and Jimmy has no choice but to let her stay with him. As Jimmy works on his car listening to " I'm Your Puppet", Isabel comes up to him and changes the music in the cassette-player. She tries to get him to dance with her on the street. At first he doesn't want to, but she finally succeeds in teaching him some steps. He asks her at the end of the song, "Will you teach me how to salsa?" It is here that Jimmy finally lets Isabel into his heart and where they both understand that although other people don't understand them, they know now who they really are together and they finally

consummate In many traditions and statutes of civil or religious law, the consummation of a marriage, often called simply ''consummation'', is the first (or first officially credited) act of sexual intercourse between two people, following their marriage to ...

their marriage. Isabel becomes pregnant shortly thereafter but unfortunately dies after giving birth to their son, Carlitos. Enraged, Jimmy attacks the doctor whom he blames for her death, burglarizes a store, and is jailed, leaving his son to be raised by his parents. When Jimmy gets out of prison 4 years later, he initially doesn't want anything to do with his son, who is a spirited, but trouble-making child. When Jimmy finally sees his son, he is filled with joy and immediately wants to care for him. However, his son hates him, who thinks his real father is a cattle rancher who lives in Texas. After Jimmy decides to change his life around for the good of his son, Carlitos accepts him and moves with him to Texas where Jimmy has secured a good-paying manufacturing job in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_ ...

. The film concludes with Jose and Maria, now

empty nester Empty nest syndrome is a feeling of grief and loneliness parents may feel when their children move out of the family home, such as to live on their own or to attend a college or university. It is not a clinical condition. Since young adults moving ...

s reminiscing about their past as Jose says "God has been good to us, we've been very lucky, and our life it has been very...very good" and the camera pans to a shot of Los Angeles.

Cast

* Jimmy Smits as Jimmy Sánchez ** Jonathan Hernandez as Young Jimmy Sánchez *

as Paco Sánchez ** Benito Martinez as Young Paco Sánchez *

as Jesus "Chucho" Sánchez * Elpidia Carrillo as Isabel Magaña Sánchez * Enrique Castillo as Guillermo "Memo" Sánchez ** Greg Albert as Young Memo Sánchez * Rafael Cortés as Roberto Sánchez * Michael DeLorenzo as Butch Mejia *

Constance Marie Constance Marie Lopez (born September 9, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Angie Lopez in ''George Lopez'' (2002–2007), and Marcela Quintanilla (mother of Selena) in the film ''Selena'' (1997). She portrayed Reg ...

as Toni Sánchez *

Scott Bakula Scott Stewart Bakula (; born October 9, 1954) is an American actor. He is known for his roles in two science-fiction television series: as Sam Beckett on '' Quantum Leap'' and as Captain Jonathan Archer on '' Star Trek: Enterprise''. For ''Quantu ...

as David Ronconi *

Lupe Ontiveros Guadalupe Ontiveros ( Moreno; September 17, 1942 – July 26, 2012) was an American actress best known for portraying Rosalita in ''The Goonies'', and Yolanda Saldívar in the film ''Selena''. She acted in numerous films and television shows, ...

as Irene Sánchez ** Maria Canals as Young Irene Sánchez * León Singer as El Californio *

Mary Steenburgen Mary Nell Steenburgen (; born February 8, 1953) is an American actress, comedian, singer, and songwriter. After studying at New York's Neighborhood Playhouse in the 1970s, she made her professional acting debut in 1978 Western comedy film '' Goin ...

as Gloria * Dedee Pfeiffer as Karen Gillespie *

Bibi Besch Bibi Besch (born Bibiana Maria Köchert; February 1, 1942 – September 7, 1996) was an Austrian-American film, television, and stage actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Dr. Carol Marcus in the science fiction film '' Star Trek II: T ...

as Mrs. Gillespie *

Bruce Gray Bruce Gray (September 7, 1936 – December 13, 2017) was a Canadian actor, known for multiple roles in films and television shows for over 5 decades. Early Years Gray was born in Puerto Rico and lived in Toronto after 1949. He graduated from ...

as Mr. Gillespie * Eduardo Lopez Rojas as Jose Sánchez **

Jacob Vargas Jacob Vargas (born August 18, 1971) is a Mexican-American actor and performer. Early life Vargas was born in Michoacán, Mexico, and raised in Pacoima, Los Angeles, California. He was raised in a devout Roman Catholic family. He attended high sc ...

as Young Jose Sánchez * Jenny Gago as Maria Sánchez **

Jennifer Lopez Jennifer Lynn Affleck (' Lopez; born July 24, 1969), also known as J.Lo, is an American singer, actress and dancer. In 1991, she began appearing as a Fly Girl dancer on the sketch comedy television series '' In Living Color'', where she re ...

as Young Maria Sánchez

Background and filming

While the film was distributed by

New Line Cinema New Line Cinema is an American film production studio owned by Warner Bros. Discovery and is a film label of Warner Bros. It was founded in 1967 by Robert Shaye as an independent film distribution company; later becoming a film studio after ...

, many production companies were involved in the making of the film, including:

American Playhouse ''American Playhouse'' is an American anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). Overview It premiered on January 12, 1982, with ''The Shady Hill Kidnapping'', written and narrated by John Cheever an ...

, Francis Ford Coppola's American Zoetrope, Majestic Films International, and Newcomb Productions. Gregory Nava has stated that the film has autobiographic overtones, but the film was more inspirational rather than specific. Nava says, "A lot of the specifics came from other families when I was doing research for the film in

." The final scene is duplicated shot-for-shot from the final scene of

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs of ...

's 1959 film '' The World of Apu''. Filming began in 1994. The film was filmed in both

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

and

. In California locations include: Agoura Hills, Highland Park, Los Angeles and

East Los Angeles, California East Los Angeles ( es, Este de Los Ángeles), or East L.A., is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California. As of the 2020 census it had a population of 118,786, a drop of 6.1% from 2010, when it was 126,496. For statistical purpo ...

. In Mexico locations include: Ocumicho, Patamba, and

Pátzcuaro Pátzcuaro () is a city and municipality located in the state of Michoacán. The town was founded sometime in the 1320s, at first becoming the capital of the Purépecha Empire and later its ceremonial center. After the Spanish took over, Vasco de ...

, all in the state of

Michoacán Michoacán, formally Michoacán de Ocampo (; Purépecha: ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Michoacán de Ocampo ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Michoacán de Ocampo), is one of the 32 states which comprise the Federal Entities of ...

, Mexico.

Reception

Critical response

Reviews were generally positive. The film has a 79% "Fresh" rating at

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wan ...

, based on 57 reviews from professional critics, with an average rating of 7.3/10.

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

, film critic for the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the '' Chicago ...

,'' liked the direction of the film, and wrote, "Their story is told in images of startling beauty and great overflowing energy; it is rare to hear so much laughter from an audience that is also sometimes moved to tears. Few movies like this get made because few filmmakers have the ambition to open their arms wide and embrace so much life." Film critics Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, who write for the web based ''Spirituality and Practice,'' liked the film, the acting and the direction of the film. They wrote, "My Family is a touching and often mystical portrait of a multi-generational Mexican-American family in East Los Angeles...Director Gregory Nava ('' El Norte'') does a fine job orchestrating the many events in this emotionally resonant drama." But not all were so kind. Caryn James, in a film review in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' wrote the film was "wildly uneven" and "offers a trite, overblown narration by

and an often flagging sense of drama." She was also not happy with Nava's direction and wrote, " avaseems so enamored of the texture of

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

life that he glides past any sense of character." Yet, she was very complimentary of Jimmy Smits' performance.

Awards and honors

Wins * NCLR Bravo Award: NCLR Bravo Award; Outstanding Feature Film; 1995. * Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: OCIC Award, Gregory Nava; 1995. *

Young Artist Awards The Young Artist Award (originally known as the Youth in Film Award) is an accolade presented by the Young Artist Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded in 1978 to honor excellence of youth performers, and to provide scholarships for young ...

: Young Artist Award; Best Young Supporting Actor - Feature Film, Jonathan Hernandez; 1996. Nominated *

Casting Society of America The Casting Society, formerly known as Casting Society of America (CSA), was founded in Los Angeles, California, in 1982 as a professional society of about 1,200 casting directors and associate casting directors for film, television, theatre, and ...

: Artios Award; Best Casting for Feature Film, Best Casting for Drama Feature Film, Jane Jenkins, Janet Hirshenson, and Roger Mussenden; 1995. * Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival: Golden Seashell; Gregory Nava; 1995. *

Academy Awards The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

: Oscar; Best Make-Up, Best Makeup, Ken Diaz and Mark Sanchez; 1996. *

Independent Spirit Awards The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with acrylic gla ...

: Independent Spirit Award; Best Male Lead, Jimmy Smits; Best Supporting Female, Jennifer Lopez; 1996.

Distribution

''My Family'' opened in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

in wide release on May 3, 1995. In the United Kingdom it opened on October 6, 1995. The film was screened at a few film festivals including the Donostia-San Sebastián International Film Festival,

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. Sales at the box-office were average. The first week's gross was $2,164,840 and the total receipts for the run were $11,079,373. It grossed just $0.4 million internationally for a worldwide total of $11.5 million. The budget of the film is estimated at $5,500,000. A

video Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...

was released April 8, 1997 and a DVD version was released on June 9, 2004 by New Line Home Video. A Spanish version video was also released.

Soundtrack

For the original motion picture soundtrack, the producers include a cross section of Latino music, including a merengue and a

mambo Mambo most often refers to: *Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particula ...

. The song "Angel Baby" by Rosie and the Originals, is included as well, sung by Exposé vocalist

Jeanette Jurado Jeanette Livier Jurado (born November 14, 1965, East Los Angeles, California) is a member and a lead vocalist of the popular American girl group, Exposé, along with Ann Curless, Gioia Bruno and, in the group's later years, Kelly Moneymaker. ...

. In the movie, Jurado made a cameo appearance as Rosie Hamlin performing the song. A CD was released on April 25, 1995, on the

Nonesuch Records Nonesuch Records is an American record company and label owned by Warner Music Group, distributed by Warner Records (formerly called Warner Bros. Records), and based in New York City. Founded by Jac Holzman in 1964 as a budget classical label, No ...

label. The CD contains 14 tracks including the main title theme written by Mark McKenzie and Pepe Avila. Gregory Nava wrote the liner notes for the CD. Composer Mark McKenzie also released ''Con Passione'' (2001), a CD that contains various compositions he has written for films including seven tracks for ''My Family.''Lindahl, Andreas
. ''Score Reviews,'' review of McKenzie's soundtrack.

Track listing

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:My Family (Film) 1995 films 1995 drama films American Zoetrope films 1990s English-language films Films about families Films directed by Gregory Nava Films set in Los Angeles Films set in the 1950s Films set in 1958 Films set in the 1970s Mexican-American films New Line Cinema films 1990s Spanish-language films 1995 multilingual films American multilingual films