Frank White
I think as a romantic comedy it works quite well, and I think it's a great film for couples to watch together - preferably by candle-light, with some wine and some tapas snacks on hand. Tim Sharp & Ruthanna Hopper were fine as the "comic" couple played against the serious (Jackson & Varela) couple. I'll admit the Dennis Hopper character was a bit of a problem: his portentous oracular pronouncements ("Be wary!") were a bit hard to swallow. The chemistry between Jackson & Varela is real. The cinematography was first rate; the sights & sounds of Spain, of the drunken blow-out that is the running of the bulls are captured quite well indeed. What, for me, made the film completely worthwhile was the presence of beautiful Chilean actress Leonor Varela. She is a fine actress, and has shown herself to be also a first rate comedic actress. A must see for a Spanish beauty fans!
mjsantoro
What Drivel ! How could anybody consider this movie anything but amateur film making at it's worst. I've seen better home movies. No story, no content, no start or finish, just utter nonsense. The best part of this movie were the closing credits, and the relief that you feel when this garbage finally comes to an end. The only reason I sat and suffered through the entire ordeal, was due to the possibility of encountering the good part, based on earlier reviews. The good part never arrives, and you realize that your time has been wasted. My advice is to save this movie for some late night when you have insomnia, and prefer not taking a drink or medication, since this movie will put you right to sleep.
imme16
This is undoubtedly the most pretentious and terrible film I have ever watched. It is ignorant, trying to be cultured but just comes across as embarrassingly cringe-worthy and wooden. The main female character who is supposed to be (I think) passionate and exciting is instead annoying and fake. Its obviously an American portrayal of what they see as culture on this side of the ocean(European countries) but it does nothing but expose the ignorance of the American film industry. The only slightly redeeming fact about this movie is Jackson's character's best friend who is pretty funny (but is not even on the screen very much). I have never written a review on anything before but feel like it would be selfish in this case not to warn the rest of the world not to waste 2 hours watching this film as I have done. (well actually it was so bad I switched it off before the end). Basically if you ever think about watching this film...DON'T.
Jeremiah Lewis
Writer/Director Kevin Noland's debut feature, Americano, starts out large and loud, with a birds-eye view of a Spanish crowd packed into a plaza like conquistadors on a gold-bound ship. It is the annual Pamplona running of the bulls festival, and the anticipation and jubilation rise on the air in a celebration of the very Spanish tradition that culminates in a series of duels between matadors and their bull partners. Americano is rife with metaphor, utilizing both Spanish festival traditions and the surrounding land and cityscapes to hammer home the theme of finding oneself at the crux of a life changing moment.Joshua Jackson plays Chris, a twenty-something whose days at the festival are the last before returning to the States for a career in a possibly lucrative, but soul-deadening office. With his two friends Ryan (Timm Sharp) and Michelle (Ruthanna Hopper) in tow, the three are in high festival mood when Chris' backpack is stolen. Suddenly, the future looks even closer, and Chris begins having doubts about going back to the States. Here, I feel alive he writes in his journal, as he participates in the mad dash running of the bulls, escaping into the stadium where the bright sunshine overwhelms Chris in his ecstasy (no matter that the film was overexposed for that particular scene...the sentiment is there).At a curious ex-pat bar owned and operated by an eccentric (Dennis Hopper) who shouts bizarre and cryptic sayings like "Be very wary of the con...the Ameri-con...Americano!", Chris meets the vivacious Adela (Leonor Varela), a beautiful actress who takes to his plight and invites them all to her villa, set in the wide sweeping vista of an Iberian paradise. Here Chris really takes to heart his impending future and begins to question what he wants out of life. His friends too, begin to see cracks in their own self-built wall of security, and suddenly their lives have become a bit more complicated.If the plot sounds hazy and indistinct, that's because it is, but not to its detriment. While a bit more structure might be helpful to create a sense of the whole, Americano dwells not on the outward events, but on the inward spirit and thought of its characters. Using Hemmingway's The Sun Also Rises as Chris' guidebook and the film's thematic conceit, Kevin Noland displays no urgency in presenting his vision of the anxieties and enthusiasm of young adulthood, its trials, its secrets, and its ambivalence. We aren't given easy answers, but the questions posed are introspective, to be taken in softly and quietly, with a sincerity of expectation for seeking out what's right and real and true.In the end, Americano is a finely tuned, though technically flawed in some respects, film with fine performances from Joshua Jackson and Dennis Hopper, though the revelation is Leonor Varela, who injects her character with a sense of the sublime, an earthy angel with a taste for the dangerous and exotic, but not without a sense of home. Timm Sharp supplies some good comedic moments, and though understated and slightly old for the part, Ruthanna Hopper shows she's a capable actress. Noland's direction is subtle. The film suffers from a few technical problems, including poor ADR sync and a few scenes where footage appears overexposed. However, these should not be cause to miss a wonderful debut from an ambitious and talented writer and director.
