WATCH THE TRAILER HERE
First, the Recap:
Finding ourselves. With the air of unsettledness we see in this world, it’s already a challenge on many levels to feel fully in tune with who we are, or perhaps more so who we WANT to be and what we wish to achieve. To just SEE what is desired is easy, plus to be told “just go for it”. However, it can end up being a lot more of an issue when outside forces begin pushing against us, creating the barriers hindering our momentum.
For a young Guatemalan named Gabriela (Evelyn Lorena), it’s a dream to join a local country club swim team. Watching others enjoy what she longs for, the only thing holding her back remains one currently immutable fact–she is undocumented. While her mother Alma (María Telón) tries to make Gabriela realize the actualities of their situation, will the pressures of it crush hope or put it all in a new perspective?
Next, my Mind:
As most of us can attest to, assuming you read, watch, or hear the news, the ongoing focus on the topic and consistently growing controversy of immigration and immigrants in our country seems legion. However, at least in this critic’s opinion, the legitimacy in the need to curb certain proven troubles due to it gets muddied when blame for its impact gets assigned to the WHOLE rather than remaining ON those who have caused actual problems that need resolving. Add to this the hate, prejudice, and/or discrimination on top of it, and soon you are genuinely excluding those who, yes, might be undocumented, but could absolutely be offered chances to VALIDATE their presence and become legal citizens doing their best to simply LIVE, just like the rest of us, and understanding that things still might not always turn out the way we wish. But, again, THAT is what life is at times, right?
I felt this overall concept forms the foundational core to the Oscar qualifying short film from writer/director/executive producer/editor Evelyn Lorena, producer/editor Maris Lidaka, and associate producer Isabelle Boulton that conveys an emphatically personalized viewpoint of what it is to be an undocumented individual who only wishes to chase a dream, see it happen, and find joy in their journey–and not cause any trouble at ALL. The narrative’s course that delivers this through the eyes of a young woman who’s only come to recent knowledge about her status and is having to experience the frustrations associated with it is highly effective and relatable because it’s not remotely trying to be “preachy” or even blatantly antagonistic in addressing its primary thematic gist. Quite the opposite, it’s more a well-constructed awareness-raising effort that makes its points persuasively with enough force to drive it home without seeming overbearing.
Honestly, the manner in which this topic is presented could truly, or at least possibly, sway your entire mindset about the plight of undocumented people in our country and at minimum be open to what I stated above, that it is the GOOD, established, hardworking people we SHOULD give heed to while, yes, weeding out those who are not here to promote anything but problems. In this story, you FEEL for Gabriela, you EMPATHIZE with her, you UNDERSTAND her building agitation of not really being SEEN, or acknowledged beyond the apparent “issues” many have with her status AS an immigrant, much less an undocumented one. Likewise, the portrait of parenthood the narrative gives us is just as potent in that so adeptly showcases the urgency of a mother only wanting to see her daughter have it better than she does, that it is her wish for it to happen, but that sometimes realities don’t always allow for it. BUT, it doesn’t mean fulfillment isn’t out there.
This then becomes the ultimate point of the film through a wonderfully beautiful finale that gives us the notions of faith, love, support, hope, and dreams being renewed, revitalized, and attainable, even if it all might be altered from what was first considered, which is not a BAD thing. Another director choosing to step out from behind the lens, I very much felt my heart go out to Lorena and the subtle but wholly present emotional volatility she embodies through her role here as the title character, Gabriela, a young woman on a quest to see a dream come about that may or may not occur due to her immigrant status and those who are refusing to be of any true assistance to rectify it. Even as Gabriela’s frustration continues to simmer inside while making efforts to change her reality, it becomes a path to an unexpected waking up that illustrates for her that things CAN and, even if by conjecture primarily, WILL get better and open up for her.
As hinted at earlier, it’s a mix of both the socially/situationally-infused aspects of Gabriela’s attitudes and ambitions as it is about discovering her self-identity and being one hundred percent confident in it driving this story, and how Lorena so astutely portrays this with a raw vulnerability yet also inner strength and even, dare I say, a magnitude of defiance is purposeful and admirable in its intentional candidness. Telon also makes her own presence very known, but in an even more understated manner through her performance as Alma, Gabriela’s mother who is both the voice of unquestionable adoration towards her daughter but also one of both contention and logic. Wishing nothing but to see her daughter excel beyond what she has, Alma also brings the truths about how life unfolds that become a key catalyst for Gabriela’s soon-to-be-birthed viewpoint of who she is and what she can be.
It’s a perfect amount of softened yet substantial energy Telon brings to the role, and it makes the character of Alma manifest as both a foil and an inspiration for Gabriela’s ventures, a credit to the veteran actress’ skills brought to the role. The primary supporting role here is from Viktor White as Stefan, Gabriela’s close friend whom also appears to be one of the only people from school she knows who genuinely supports her and sees well beyond anything to do with status, skin color, or natural heritage. It’s one of the few “safe spaces” represented for her, or at least in her scope of thinking, and it was refreshing to see this character portrayed for that initial sense of hope. Additional supporting appearances are made by Colton Embree, Miguel Girona, Abrielle Josephine Cincotti, Colby Burton, Karla Lopez, Edelmira Lopez, Sam Cahoon, Martin Lopez, Avery Bishop, and Sara Paige Harvey, with “voice only” showings from Mauricio Garcia, Finley Ramsey, Cassie Poirier, Lara Lihiya, and Rae Olivier.
So, in total, “Gabriela” takes its decidedly hotbed subject matter and makes it thoroughly accessible, relevant, and stirring, not flinching away from the themes that matter, but addressing them head-on but through a far more evocative and individualistic approach that should allow its messages to truly sink in. If anything, what this critic felt it really comes down to is having a willingness to stop seeing this issue as some politically explosive, nationally polarizing, mainstream media-fueled mess, but rather what it needs to more importantly be–a HUMAN one– with better roads and resolutions to it that could benefit us ALL, so that NO ONE would ever have to feel lost because of where they come from nor feel that what possibilities they reach for aren’t there.
STAR RATING (out of 5):
As always, this is all for your consideration and comment. Until next time, thank you for reading!
