the audience applauded

I don't have all the words right now but this film is a work of art.

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

It is both painfully honest and laugh-out-loud funny at the same time.

With many movies out there about immigration to the U.S. from other countries 3 Américas is unique in that it tells the reverse story: a young girl who is forced to leave her home in Boston after the death of her aunt and move in with her grandmother in Buenos Aires, Argentina. América struggles to form her identity as she starts to get to know her grandmother along with the culture and language of Argentina. There were many times in the movie where I thought that there would be a breakthrough for América, but it never really came. There were so many opportunities for a change in character and personality but it just never happened, which was a bit frustrating. It was hard to relate to the main character, she just seemed so "blah" and not very interesting at all. To give some credit there were one or two scenes that made for a more interesting plot, but they were few and far between.

This movie is certainly a coming-of-age movie in which América is troubled because of her rough family life. She has to sort through all that has happened to her, and find her own voice and path in life. 3 Américas is a tough movie to watch because of the level of disrespect that América shows to her grandmother, after moving in with her in Argentina. However, there are more positive aspects of the movie that definitely shine through when we witness when her grandmother has a stroke, América turns her attitude around, and helps to take care of her grandmother and her grandmother's house. It is nice to see that América has positive role models in her life, like Sergio, who points her in the right direction. It is interesting to note that in this movie, there is not much continuity of time, and many scenes get cut off. After one is cut off, the next scene appears to be much later, and the viewer is left not knowing exactly what had happened in between. This leaves them wondering what they missed which I think the director may have done on purpose to make the viewer think, and fill in those left out pieces with their own imaginations.

(There are minor spoilers in this review.) This film is an exceptional character study of a displaced American in Argentina, but you really have to get past the first thirty minutes to get to the heart of the movie. The first third of the film, that takes place in the United States, is amateurish (to be kind). But once the main character changes locations to Argentina, meets up with her grandmother, forges friendships, and encounters setbacks does everything about the movie change dramatically for the better—the quality of acting, the cinematography, the direction, even the music. Check it out, but wait patiently through those rough first thirty minutes.

This is a truly well-made and heartfelt film about a girl growing up in difficult circumstances. There are quite a few films that cover the subject matter, but very few manage to capture it with as much emotion, sincerity and realism as this once does. I can't understand why films like this one are never given the attention they rightfully deserve--films that have something to say and know how to say them, refusing to compromise their integrity or pander to sensationalism--while cinemas are overflowing with dime-a-dozen films that are either remakes or retreads of other movies that were not very good in the first place. In the .22 caliber world of film-making that we currently live in, movies like "3 Americas" are like a .357 magnum.