This film is all cliché. The depiction of Latino groups is demeaning. The reflection of white army,police as insensitive and brutal is such a stereotype. The uptight white family meeting the future in-laws in the local family house with roosters and chickens running in the streets and the white family so uncomfortable is another overdone scene.There are some positives-the cinematography was good in various spots.The overall passage of time was not well structured and some of the events depicted were impossible to occur.All in all this film is pandering to the Latino groups and delivers no suspense,true character development or interest. I rate this a thumbs down!

Contains Spoiler I really love this movie so much I bought the DVD. Edward James Olmos is so good as the father of the family. He acts just like my father used to when we were that age of the people in the movie. In fact, all the acting is really very good. The music in this movie is very authentic. The struggles of the family over so many years really made me cry at times -- what they went through was really so tough. The Mexican countryside is also very authentic too from what I can remember of it. Also, the part where the mother was having a baby, only she died instead -- that was really very good too -- and also reminded me of some people I used to know back when we lived in Mexico. This is a really terrific movie especially if you are also Latino actually.

This is one of the best Latino movies I ever see. Story is great and the problems are real. The characters are well played. If you like "the goodfather" here's the hispanic version!

All I can say is wow! Francis Ford Coppola did an amazing job on this film when he cast the crew to show a struggling but strong family growing up in the middle part of the 20th century. The acting was excellent, the script was excellent, and there was never a dull moment in the movie. If you need to do anything about Mexican culture for a school report, I would highly recommend this movie!