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Actors: Maureen Flannigan, John Getz, Eduardo Palomo, Caroline Aaron and Yareli Arizmendi
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| Review Summary and Plot Commentary about A Day Without a Mexican |
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A Day Without a Mexican
Directed by Sergio Arau, 2004
Staring Maureen Flannigan, John Getz, Eduardo Palomo, Caroline Aaron and Yareli Arizmendi
A strange purple fog engulfs the State of California cutting off all electronic communication between California and the rest of the world. Television, radio, e-mail and websites (whose servers are located within California) within the state remain operational. Ground, air and sea transportation within the state are operational but, not knowing the effects of the fog, people are afraid to pass through the fog to enter or leave the state. California becomes an island lacking any contact with the world beyond the state line. Worse still, the fog causes all people of Hispanic descent to vanish. Native born, citizens and non-citizens as well as legal and illegal immigrants of Hispanic descent suddenly disappear.
The sudden disappearance of such a large segment of the population results in massive disruption causing the non-Hispanic population to suddenly realize how critical this segment of the population is to the state's well being. With the governor and lieutenant governor both out of state on official business when the crisis strikes, State Senate Leader Ambercrombie (John Getz), a man who has built his political career exploiting anti-Hispanic sentiment, becomes the temporary governor. Feeling the impact both politically and personally (despite his prejudice against Hispanics, he relies on a Mexican maid and Hispanic laborers to perform the day to day labor of maintaining his home), Ambercrombie does an about face and strives to find a way to get the vanished citizens back.
This is a comedy spoof with a message. There is a huge economic loss resulting from the disappearance of such a large portion of the population. Those lost are not just common laborers, they are people who make up significant numbers of all positions in the economy. All sectors of the economy face serious disruption and even the Border Patrol discovers that its ranks have been thinned by the loss of Hispanic officers and the remaining Anglo officers suddenly realize that, without a steady inflow of illegal immigrants, their jobs are no longer necessary. People also come to realize that, just as the stereotype of all Hispanics being manual laborers is not true, the stereotype of all Hispanics being Mexicans is also not true. Mexicans are but one group that represent just a portion of the Spanish speaking immigrants from all over Latin America. Also, just as all Hispanics are not Mexican, they are also not all recent immigrants as many who disappeared were second, third or greater generation Americans of Hispanic descent.
The final question the audience is faced with is what constitutes an Hispanic? When all the Hispanics disappear, one Hispanic journalist, Lila Rodriquez (Yareli Arizmendi) remains during most of the crisis and then suddenly disappears. Her surviving the initial disappearance followed by her later disappearance illustrates the absurdity of ethnic stereotypes.
--Chuck Nugent, Resident Scholar
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| Analysis of A Day Without a Mexican |
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Comedy, primarily
Yes
Time/era of movie:
- present (2000-2010)
If a parody... of
- californians
Ethnic/Regional/Gender story?
Yes
Main Char. ethnic: (if not US Caucasian)
- Hispanic/Spanish
Woman/class/friends story?
- immigrant story
Culture of surrounding area:
- American Pacific Coast
How much humor v. drama
- Somewhat more humor than serious drama
Main Character
Identity:
- Female
Profession/status:
- journalist
Age:
- 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Hair color?
- brunette (Black)
Ethnicity/Nationality
- Hispanic/Latinic
How sensitive is this character?
- middling sensitive to others' feelings
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
Secondary Main Character
Identity:
- Male
Hair style
- (man) short/standard straight
How much in movie?
- 40%
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
Main Adversary
Identity:
- natural phenomena
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- 90%-100%
Setting
United States
Yes
The US:
- California
Style
Accounts of torture and death?
- no torture/death
Movie makes you feel...
- thoughtful
Any profanity?
- Occasional swearing
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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