Sabah Hensley
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
Portia Hilton
Blistering performances.
Matylda Swan
It is a whirlwind of delight --- attractive actors, stunning couture, spectacular sets and outrageous parties.
MBunge
Yellow is a nice, little story about a girl moving to the big city and chasing after her dreams. It's also a great example of a specific breed of cinematic nudity.The star of this story is Amaryllis (Roselyn Sanchez), a beautiful and unflinching Puerto Rican girl living in an apartment with her drug dealer boyfriend, unstable mother and hobbled father. Her father used to be a famous dancer and he trained his daughter to follow in his footsteps, but somewhere along the way things went wrong. The father ended up in a wheelchair and Amaryllis ended up delivering pizzas. Her life might have gone on that way for a long time, but a family tragedy sends Amaryllis to New York City to fulfill her, and her father's, dream of becoming a great dancer.Like almost all such stories, however, the reality doesn't quite live up to the fantasy. Amaryllis ends up squatting in an abandoned apartment next to a neurotic poet. She's forced to go to work as a stripper, where she encounters a man who watches her but is different than all the other leering fellows. Through it all, she remains committed to her dancing until the opportunity of her lifetime finally arrives.Roselyn Sanchez does a wonderful job, making you believe in a decent young woman who wants more than anything to live up to the example of her father in his youth. But unlike many similar characters, there's not a lot of sweetness to Amaryllis. There's a visible strength and a bluntness to her that sets her apart and makes a fairly familiar story seem a little newer, a little more real. It also helps that the movie doesn't complicate things too much. This is just a girl working a job she doesn't like while searching for that way into the world of legitimate dance. There aren't a bunch of artificial, contrived problems that get thrown in her way.But, the movie does go off track in the second half as it focuses too much on two male characters - Miles (Bill Duke), the neurotic poet and Christian (D. B. Sweeney), the man who would be Amaryllis' knight in shining armor. It's not that the two story lines are bad or the actors don't do a good job, it's just that Amaryllis is the character we really care about and she's only a bystander when Miles and Christian are around. She doesn't really play a central role in what happens to Miles or Christian. One is more involved in some unspoken trauma with his son and with the other, Amaryllis is basically just a girl in the right place and right time. Neither Miles nor Christian make any choice or are confronted with any dilemma where Amaryllis has to play a decisive role, so their activities work to take away from the central story instead of enhancing it.As for the specific breed of cinematic nudity on display in Yellow, I think you could call it Producer Self-Nudity. Early on in the film there's a gratuitous scene of Amaryllis having sex with her boyfriend. She's naked and we get a good, solid look at her. But later on she goes to work in a strip club, and while we see other women topless, Amaryllis never takes it all off for the camera. Now, why would an actress get naked early in a movie, for no particular reason, but not get naked later on when it would be completely appropriate for that part of the story? T he answer is that Roselyn Sanchez isn't just the star of Yellow, she's also the producer of the film. T here's not a question in my mind that she didn't really want to do movie nudity, but threw in it toward the beginning of the film for the crassest, most prurient of reasons. She just wanted to get the audience's attention and give them a little thrill so they'd watch the movie a little closer in anticipation of nudity to come. It's not a bad trick.Yellow is a good dance movie that's closer to realism than the overt theatrics common to the genre. You won't find any improbable dance-offs, just a dreamer and her dreams in a world that doesn't always live up to them.
gridoon2018
There is no point in denying it: the main draw for me to watch this movie was the presence of Roselyn Sanchez in the central role. And I was not disappointed: her performance (probably drawing from personal experiences) is honest and believable, her dancing (in a variety of styles, from pole stripteases to salsa to classical ballet) is pro-level, her body is amazingly flexible, and her six-pack abs are without equal! Sanchez carries this movie - she has to, because nothing much happens during the 90-minute running time, although the script tries to introduce some sub-plots, mainly concerning Roselyn's New York neighbor, a half-crazy poet (Bill Duke) with a tragic past. It's a small, simple film that's suitable mostly for fans of the leading lady, and possibly of athletic women in general. (**1/2)
Jose R Colon
There are many good movies out there. Yet, there are very few amongst them that carry you and take you to a place of peace, or what I like to call cinematic bliss. The last movie I can remember that left me in such a state was the SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION about five years ago. I sat down just to watch nude scenes of Roselyn Sanchez, the protagonist, and ended up completely drawn by the deep drama the movie throws at you. It has been a while since I witness the depth of emotion that she displayed almost as if she had lived the experience herself. Roselyn should get an award for such a performance.I am almost mad at the little publicity that the movie was given and the horrible "crappy movie look" of the cover. Its true that we shouldn't judge any book by its cover but now a days we can't help it with so many movies out there. They should display more of the real threads of the movie in the cover and back cover shots.No matter though, since I was lucky enough to sit down to watch it and the movie was awesome enough not to let me stand up till the end of the credits. Two thumbs up to Roselyn and her crew for such an incredible journey!
Crash TownUSA
This was a really sad movie that didn't seem to get too much attention from anyone. Rush Hour 2's Roselyn Sanchez plays "Yellow" a Puerto Rican woman who grew up being a dancer. When her father dies she leaves her mother and boyfriend whom she hates to find a career in dancing.Yellow moves to New York where her life becomes even worse as she searches for a job. A stripper becomes her only means of money so she takes the job :D ;P.It is the sort of movie that you are thankful you have family to care for you and that you're not alone. I can understand why a lot of people didn't like it though, unless you can relate to the Puerto Rican culture you probably don't care to much about Yellow. Maybe you'd be like "Oh that happens a lot of there probably" but no it happens every where and all the time.A movie about people who are alone but find happiness again through loved one's. A very sad movie with only a few main characters that all seem to be alone and can't find anyone to save them.8/10
