Casi Casi

A delightful picture made in Puerto Rico and in a league with many Hollywood productions, the writers/directors have managed to extract excellent preformances from the amateur teenage cast. Hollywood tends to use older actors in teenage roles who can look back at their adolescence and express what they felt objectively (Stockard Channing was 32 when she starred in Grease). Mssrs Vallés managed to get these teenagers to show all their angst, sexual frustrations and romantic aspirations even though they may not even understand them now. There was a true sense of discipline and professionalism in all aspects of the production. Although this movie is in Spanish, the mostly Anglo audience reacted effusively to the situations and even to the spoken jokes--this mainly due to the excellent subtitle translation and timing. The mix of suspense and comedy was enhanced by the excellent musical score that made the action seem like a choreographed ballet. The character of the school Principal, played by Marian Pabón (who is the only professional actor in the cast), was perfectly executed with time-bomb constrained subtlety as she tried to take control of the students while repressing her own sexual frustrations. The Valles Brothers affectionately remember their heritage with a subtle allusion to their grandfather, the late Mario Pabón--TV producer/director, in the form of a gingerly placed photograph. I'm sure he is proud.

In a foreign language classroom, nothing seems to bring the language into context like a good foreign film. The challenge for a high school language teacher such as myself, is to find films that are relevant, appropriate, and culturally affirmative for my classroom."Casi, Casi" is a delightful film that captures the wacky misadventures of painfully self-conscious and joyfully social teenagers at a Puerto Rican high school. The spirit of this film and its story connect with students drawing them into the language and culture without force. Students actually care what happens to the characters. Instead of showing students some "weird" different culture, it humanizes spanish-speakers, showing kids just like them, dealing with problems just like them, in a school just like theirs.I loved the "accento puertorriqueño" and the inside view of life in a high school where they speak Spanish. My students had great discussions comparing their own group of friends to those of Emilio and wondering what crazy things they would get themselves into just because they like a girl.

The film itself is fine but this refers to the DVD itself. Ordered two different ones and both DVDs were defective and would not play. They were not bent but had some sort of slight discolouration and we were not able to send back for a refund because we tested it after the return policy. The 2nd time round submitted it for a return. As to the film itself it is nothing great but not bad either for independent style films. It's a more positive story on PR and in a cultural sense worth watching if you can get a DVD that works!

With the exception of Marian Pabon and the actor who plays the computer instructor, all the actors and the writer-director team of Jaime and Tony Valles are amateurs. Jaime and Tony have experience in theatre and opera -- they both sing -- but had never done a movie before. They got this idea of making a film with kids for kids, wrote it, bought or leased digital video equipment and started filming while learning from the manuals. The ressult is a charming family film, well written, well acted and well directed. In January it played in Puerto Rico -- the kids are Puerto Rican -- for 4 weeks, the first week in 13 theaters. HBO will play it in August I believe. I recommend it to everyone no matter the age. They'll have fun and will be amazed at what "Emilio" does to win the heart of the prettiest girl in the school and the debacle he causes while doing it.

Casi Casi is a very enjoyable movie. It brings back all the memories and angst of high school. The characters are well developed and performed, from the stern principal, students and teachers down to the endearing janitor.Emilio & Jacklynne, the would be sweet hearts, are surrounded by a cast of classmates and one delightful interloper. With out spoiling the story, I can say that all ends well with some surprizing twists. Of course there are many hi-jinx along the way. The musical score, by Peter Mills, is excellent as is the Latin music by Frankie Perez. Tony Valles & Jaime Valles have outdone themselves on their first movie. The Chicago Latino Film Festival, the Philadelphia Film Festival and the New York International Latino Film Festival agree. The subtitles are so very well done that the movie flows along effortlessly. So treat yourself to a fun movie!

Casi Casi is a great movie to show middle-school students. They will identify with the characters and the "first love" theme. It is in Spanish and sub-titled in English. The story has a message, but it's not at all preachy. The cast is great. The typical student types are there -- the snobby conceited girl, the class clowns, the loyal friend, the all-around teenager, the mean school administrator and even the student who comes back because school was fun! The setting is Puerto Rico and you can point out differences between American and PR high schools. Highly recommended. I was a sub for a week and all the classes LOVED it! I think high school students would enjoy it too, but I have no experience showing it to that age group.

I believed this to be a complete story, but it stopped half way. The story itself is very good for high school Spanish students (I purchased the DVD to show my 2nd year Spanish students), but was very disappointed when it only contained half the story. The DVD seems to be of poor quality as I was unable to play it on newer device I have at home. I am thankful I previewed it before showing it to my classes. Needless to say I will not be showing this to my students and have wasted my money.