Dominican Republic / All works
Cinema
Nueba Yol
Ángel Muñiz · 1995
Synopsis
A widower, poor and loved by his whole neighbourhood, Balbuena has always dreamed of New York. His cousin Fellito gets him a visa, in return for money that he can find only by mortgaging his house, and he leaves. Welcomed there by another cousin, Pedro, he struggles to find work, loses himself in a city that intimidates him, where surviving proves harder and more violent than he had imagined, and clashes with compatriots who are better established than he is.
Context
Balbuena, with his undershirt, blue trousers, beret and comb stuck in his hair, came from television, where Luisito Martí had created him and where his departure for the United States was always postponed. Félix Manuel Lora notes that the country's screens had shown no Dominican fiction for ten years. According to the magazine Global, the commercial success was such that it marked the real start of the Dominican film industry. The film was submitted for the Oscar, and its sequel appeared in 1997 under the number three, to avoid passing as a second part.
Who it is for
One hundred and six minutes, in Spanish, with a few lines in English; a popular comedy, accessible without knowing anything about the series its hero comes from.
Prizes and reception
A triumph in cinemas, so great that, according to the magazine Global, people came from the United States to see what was going on; the country's candidate for the Oscars.
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