AMERICAN MEÂ (18)
D: Edward James Olmos
Y.O.Y. (Sean Daniel, Robert M. Young & Edward James
Olmos)
USA 🇺🇸 1992
125 mins
Crime/Drama
W: Floyd Mutrux & Desmond Nakano
DP: Reynaldo Villalobos
Ed: Arthur Coburn & Richard Candib
Mus: Dennis Lambert & Claude Gaudette
Edward James Olmos (Montoya Santana), William
Forsythe (J.D.), Pepe Serna (Mundo), Danny de La Paz (Puppet), Evelina Fernandez (Julie)
Based on a true story, American Me is a brutally violent
prison drama about a Mexican-American hoodlum who forms a gang while serving an 18-year stretch to protect fellow Mexicans from attacks from other inmates, becoming a kingpin behind prison
walls.
Upon his release, he finds life difficult to acclimatise
to, and soon finds himself back behind bars again.
The film gained notoriety for its brutal depiction of
prison life, including a homosexual rape scene, and though the narrative is a little slow moving, the performance of Edward James Olmos is excellent.
The same writers returned to similar themes with Blood In,
Blood Out (qv) released a year later.Â
6/10