F-0277

Title:

The Blue Diner

Category:

S

Produced:

2001

Country:

USA

Released:

Film: Mar 2001 (Argentina, Mar del Plata Film Festival); Apr 2001 (USA)
DVD: Jun 2003
VHS: Jun 2003

Director:

Jan Egleson

Writer:

Jan Egleson (screenplay, story); Natatcha Estébanez (screenplay, story)

Actors:

Miriam Colon (Meche - as Miriam Colón); Lisa Vidal (Elena); Jose Yenque (Tito); William Marquez (Papo); Virginia Rambal (Vika); Jack Mulcahy (Brian); Jaime Tirelli (Héctor); Fidel Vicioso (Patricio); Edouard DeSoto (Singer in Club); Gustave Johnson (Museum security guard); Teresa Yenque (Dog casket shopper); René Sánchez (Don Benito); Chuck Brinig (Theo); Ken Cheeseman (Banker); Lonnie Farmer (Lawyer)

Description:

Eager to become a businesswoman, an immigrant from Puerto Rico tries to adjust to life in the USA.

On her 26^th birthday, Elena suffers an anomaly: she loses her ability to speak Spanish. It happens during a late-night argument with her mother, the janitor at a Boston museum, over several family issues: Elena's missing father (gone since she was a young child) and her feeling caught between two men, a Latin artist named Tito, who has no Green Card, and her Irish-American boss, Brian. What explains the loss of her native tongue? Does it matter within the larger challenges of finding her father, choosing between men, and reconciling with her mother? Some answers may come at the Blue Diner, where Papo, the Cuban proprietor, serves up brains and a special pepper. (J. Hailey)

The Blue Diner is a film about food, memory, language, and caskets. It is the story of a Puerto Rican mother and daughter living together in Boston and the difficulties they encounter when the daughter, Elena, mysteriously loses her ability to speak Spanish, her first language. Everyone has a theory about the origin of Elena's misfortune, but no one knows for certain what has caused the tragic and absurd event. As Elena's language disappears, her boyfriend's painting inexplicably appears at the Fine Arts Museum where her mother works. In a misguided attempt to obtain an artist's visa, his actions unleash a world of misunderstanding and trouble for Elena and her mother. As the relationship between mother and daughter deteriorates, the two women are forced to confront each other and their murky past. A haunting song, a missing father, and a plate of fried brains help to reunite Elena, her mother, and her language. (From the Back Cover)

Language:

English, Spanish

TT:

100 min

J.S. Bach's Music:

Goldberg Variations BWV 988: Aria
Courtesy of Tré-fi Productions

Format:

Film: Color
DVD: See below.
VHS: See below.

Company:

Film: Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB); Goldheart Pictures; Latino Public Broadcasting; Public Broadcasting Service (PBS); The Blue Diner Film Project; WGBH
DVD: First Look Pictures
VHS: First Look Pictures

Comments:

Watch selections:

Buy movie at:

DVD: Amazon.com [Color, DVD-Video, Subtitled, NTSC, Region 1]
VHS: Amazon.com [Color, NTSC] | Amazon.com [Color, Subtitled, NTSC]

DVD> VHS>

Source/Links: IMDB | Blue Diner Project
Contributor: Aryeh Oron (November 2007)