Spanglish

I had long wanted to see this movie and finally did so last night. It was absolutely delightful. I wasn't actually aware of the precise story beforehand and was perhaps even more surprised and charmed by it as a result. My great interest in Latin culture undoubtedly has a lot to do with the year I spent in Mexico City in 1996-97 and my subsequent relationship with a beautiful Mexican woman and her young son in the years following. The story of Spanglish is completely different than mine but hit many personal chords nonetheless.

In a nutshell, the movie is about a beautiful Mexican woman (played by Spanish actress Paz Vega) who moves to Los Angeles from Mexico when her daughter is quite young. Eventually she accepts a job as the housekeeper for a wealthy white family. On the surface the movie is about the clash of cultures but it's really more the clash between a down-to-earth, balanced, hard-working poor woman and a nutty, self-absorbed, and shallow wealthy woman. On a broader level it illustrates why so many in the West are desperately unhappy and lost in their lives.

It reminded me of why I felt so comfortable living in the Latin culture and why I can never go back to getting involved with the neurotic junior sisters of the antagonist; women that, sadly, I meet too often here in Vancouver.