Yellow Rose

I'm not a huge fan of country music but I thought the trailer for Yellow Rose looked good so I saw it last night.  I ended up really liking it!  Rose Garcia (Eva Noblezada) is a seventeen-year-old Filipino girl who is an aspiring singer-songwriter.  She lives in a motel in a small Texas town where her mother Priscilla (Princess Punzalen) works as a maid.  They are both undocumented but Rose does not know the true extent of their immigration troubles.  Knowing her love of country music, her friend Elliott (Liam Booth) invites her to a Western bar called the Broken Spoke in Austin.  When she returns home, she sees her mother arrested by ICE in the middle of the night but she is able to get away.  She spends the next few months trying help her mother while bouncing between her aunt Gail (Lea Salonga) who doesn't want her intruding into her life, the kindhearted owner of the Broken Spoke (Libby Villari) who takes pity on her, and country singer Dale Watson (himself) who sees her talent and wants to mentor her.  Ultimately, she must make peace with her mother's decisions, learn to survive on her own, and channel all of her heartache into her music.  Rose's story is incredibly affecting (there were a few moments where I had tears in my eyes) and Noblezada gives an outstanding performance.  I was especially impressed with her singing and guitar playing and I actually really enjoyed all of the original songs.  I know that immigration is a really sensitive subject with no easy answers but I was quite upset about Priscilla's inhumane treatment while in custody and I think this portrayal is an appropriate indictment of current policies.  My only complaint about this movie is the ambiguous ending.  While I did love the triumphant scene featuring Rose playing a gig of her own songs, I was left wondering about her fate because nothing about her immigration situation has changed.  After such an emotional journey with Rose I wanted her to be more settled.  It is, however, a very poignant coming-of-age of age story and I highly recommend it.

Note:  This movie reminded me of Wild Rose.  We just need one more story about an aspiring country singer with rose in the title to complete the trilogy!