MovieChat Forums > The Perez Family (1995) Discussion > questions about movie

questions about movie

posted 17 years ago by ebhead
7 replies | jump to latest

1. was anyone else disappointed that he and anjelica did not reunite? I could've accepted it, IF it had not been made obvious that they were connected still, even after 20 years apart. For example, when she is so excited that he's coming that she says she can "feel him" or feel that he's there. That telepathic connection of a couple separated is so romantic. She was heart-broken when he didn't come. Then, she was relieved, but first she was heartbroken. Yes, she opened her mind and heart to the detective, but wouldn't her heart still always belong first to her husband,, especially once she learned her "brohter" lied and her husband really was there?!

2. How did they find out the "son" had died?

3. Why didn't the boy just give the money he stole to the gangster guy? He was truly scared the guy would kill him, so wasn't the threat of death worth giving up that money? Also, I just thought the guy would beat the boy up. I was surprised that he really killed him.

4. Who is it that Angel kept thinking would break in on the sister and niece? Why was he so paranoid about that happening?

5. Why did Angel keep Alfred in prison all that time? was it because one was a Castro supporter and the other wasn't?

[–] marvandthe4topz 17 years ago

Answers:
1. What are you trying to ask?
2. Probably as they were posing as his parents, someone told him.
3. He bought a car, trying to impress that girl.
4. He thought the "Marielitos" (newly arrived Cubans) would break in, he blamed them for much of the crime.
5. Angel did not keep Alfreds character (Juan) in jail. Angel might have been a Castro supporter but he did pay to get Juan get out of jail.

[–] ebhead 17 years ago

Thanks for the answers.

For number 1, I did ask it at the beginning. Was anyone else disappointed that he and anjelica did not reunite?

[–] LPurch6636 15 years ago

Oh, yes, of course... But I understand that life isn't always "romantic," with "perfect endings." But that's the mature way to look at things... And as people who were now twenty years older than they had been when separated, each one understood each other as adults. Al Molina had just seen his daughter for the first time since she was a little girl, and he saw her as a mature woman. Certainly this was on his mind when he and his wife had the conversation that they had at the end. "Now I am so sorry that such a beautiful woman waited for so long..." I think they still loved each other, but with a love that twenty years had matured... So it wasn't the white-hot, possessive love that they had for each other 20 years ago. I liked their last conversation in the movie; they still had "heart-feelings" -- maybe "kindliness"-- toward one another but had grown so much in maturity. Both understood the matured-view aspects of what it is to love someone from afar for so many years and that "letting go" was the mature thing to do...

Flanagan

[–] tvashtar2919 15 years ago

1. It did move along too fast, as the reveal at the dance was just retarded. She should have definitely spent more time contemplating being with him. There should have been a scene where the brother is confronted and dismissed. Molina should have said "Thank you for keeping my spirit alive, but I release you now forever. Please go enjoy your life and let me be small part of it with our daughter."

2. Never mentioned and not reasonable that they were contacted properly. He was murdered at the beach, so wouldn't the killer try to hide the body? Wasn't even sure he was dead at first, because the segue was done so badly.

3. One more out of character scene, that was taken as a threat and delivered as real. The boy hot wired and stole the car, so he should have had the money to give him. There was no logic in him stealing the money to buy a car. Meeting at the beach was just lazy writing.

4. Angel was an overwrought and overwritten character, just there for comic relief. He was supposed to be a gangster or something, but he was not scary or believable. He was mostly just creepy and didn't want his big sister to find out he never paid the bribes.

5. Didn't actually keep him there probably, but figured he would end up dead either way.

This might have been a good movie, but the horrible editing made it look like many of the connecting pieces were left on the floor. All of your questions were probably cut due to lack of money and qualified writers.

[–] dontbthrmeimwrkn 15 years ago

as for #5 -- he says it in the movie. That he asked Angel not to send money, why would the guards release him if they had a steady stream of money coming in? That's why they kept him in jail for so long, because Angel kept sending money as bribes in the hopes that they would realease him.

[–] dramamean 13 years ago

finally - somebody who actually understood the movie - some of you seemed to have watched this movie very superficially.. most of these questions are easily answered in the movie if you pay attention..

teh one thing i will agree with is that the way they handled the murder of the Felipe character was done very ppoorly - very poorly sequenced and edited.

Angel wasnt purposely trying to keep his brother in law in jail or not paying bribes he was supposed to - but as dontbthrmeimwrkn said - the Castro regime realized how profitable it was to keep him locked up as lonmg as money kept coming in.. he was only released due to the Mariel boat lift, when Castro emptied his prisons of some of Cuba worst criminals and political prisoners.. to truly understand these points of the movie - you need to have some basic understanding of what was happening back in 1980 - the movie does a very poor job of setting it up..

remember Juan Raul's family left in 1960 - he wasnt released until 1980; Angel didnt recognize him.. when he went to pick him up at the dock he was told that the only Juan Perez who arrived had arrived with his wife Dottie (Marisa Tomei).. it wasnt until later in th emovie that he actually realized that it really WAS Juan Raul.. he wasnt trying to be devious or malicious - he just didnt know better.. when he realized it, he tried to make it right by pointing him out to Carmella at the dance..

please go watch this movie again - it really has alot of charm to it.. but pay attention this time around

[–] Nearvana 15 years ago

sometimes, most of the time, you can't go back to a previous relationship no matter how romantic or ideal it would be. that's the bittersweet part of much love. they had evolved as people & moved on amicably. i'm sure if it had been real life, they would have remained very close, bonded through their love & daughter. i loved the ending. this film had so many layers, i absolutely loved it. so fiery, passionate, they were searching for freedom in the technical sense, but found it from within through each other. excellent.

serva me, serva bote
http://www.myspace.com/naervana