That's where the story really begins. Mario wants to join his son in Miami and needs to get a visa. But he's told that since everyone wants to move to America, visas are hard to come by. Mario tries the legitimate route and is rejected. So he decides to try his luck with a more shady operator who demands $5,000 for the visa. The steep price forces Mario to consider how badly he wants to leave and what price he's willing to pay. Complicating matters are a beautiful woman named Blanca (Kate del Castillo of the upcoming Trade ) and the fact that Mario's looking to crime to find a way to get the money he needs.
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Kate del Castillo and Demian Bichir in American Visa (IMCINE)
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American Visa was written and directed by Juan Carlos Valdivia (who actually has a part in Asi del Precipicio ). Valdivia begins his film with Mario looking to the United States as the only place of promise and hope. Since his life has gone wrong in Bolivia -- most notably his failed marriage -- he looks to his son in America as a symbol of a better life he desperately wants. Mario loves his son and he obviously has genuine reasons for wanting to go to America to be with him. But those real reasons are also tied up with Mario's fantasy of finding the American dream. But Blanca would like to convince him that there's also a Bolivian dream and that there are reasons -- her among them -- for staying in Bolivia. Valdivia backs Blanca's argument up by showing us some breathtakingly beautiful shots of Bolivia. The views Valdivia presents make us wonder why anyone would leave.
Bichir is compelling as Mario. He is someone who has so convinced himself of the necessity of leaving the country in order to improve his life that he can't see the good things in front of him and the bad decisions he's making. Bichir is a likable performer who can make his character appealing even when he's acting like an idiot.
American Visa (rated R for sexual content, language and some violence and in Spanish with English subtitles) presents a different perspective on immigration and suggests an alternative to the alluring American dream.
Companion viewing: Todo el Poder, Sexo, Pudor y Lagrimas, Don't Tempt Me
