Americano (2012)

50% of critics liked it
(14 reviews)
26% of users liked it
(1,464 ratings)

Americano functions both as an homage to Demy's famous parents, filmmakers Agnès Varda and Jacques Demy, and as a work that stands entirely on its own. The film is a deeply moving drama about inheritance and legacy that deftly mines the past of a true-life filmmaking family, while at the same… More Americano functions both as an homage to Demy's famous parents, filmmakers Agnès Varda and Jacques Demy, and as a work that stands entirely on its own. The film is a deeply moving drama about inheritance and legacy that deftly mines the past of a true-life filmmaking family, while at the same time weaving a mesmerizing fictional narrative about coming to terms with unattended grief and uncomfortable pasts. The stellar cast includes, perhaps not incidentally, the children of famous film personalities -- Geraldine Chaplin, Chiara Mastroianni and Demy himself -- in addition to Salma Hayek. -- (C) Bac Films

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Directed By: Mathieu Demy
Written By: Mathieu Demy
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Jun 15, 2012 Limited
On DVD: Oct 30, 2012
Studio: Bac Films

Critic Reviews

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post
While Hayek isn't bad, Lola is a stock character, and very little that transpires after her arrival recovers the interest so beautifully constructed in the beginning.
A.O. Scott, New York Times
It is wistful and nostalgic, and at the same time full of restless curiosity.
Mark Jenkins, NPR
The film's appeal has less to do with plot than mood. Demy balances his father's romanticism and his mother's naturalism, taking cues from both.
Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News
Scenes of the director as a school-age boy in a Varda film are haunting, but end up simply sparking a desire to see Varda's work. It may take time for the son to catch his own wave.
David Fear, Time Out New York
The wounded characters eventually slouch toward redemption; the movie they're in, however, isn't nearly as lucky.
Melissa Anderson, Village Voice
Americano, which Demy also wrote and stars in, is an ambivalent, occasionally touching work of homage to his parents, yet one whose clumsiness only underscores the superiority of their directly quoted films.
JimmyO, JoBlo's Movie Emporium
...if you can't get past the flaws, you could always rent it just to see Salma's exotic dance number.
Shannon M. Houston, Paste Magazine
A film with a compelling story (though far too dependent on a single character) fails to move its audience, even as its own scenes somehow fail to move their protagonist.
Scott Tobias, AV Club
Demy leans heavily on a cinematic legacy that also seems to hold him back.
Bill Weber, Slant Magazine
This odd hybrid of in-search-of-mother quest and lurid border-town pulp shows a humane intimacy mostly in touches borrowed from the filmmaker's estimable parents.
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve
Often hypnotic, this small, well-acted piece focuses on a middle-aged man intent on fulfilling his departed mother's final wish.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A French man follows his quest to find out more about his estranged mother following her death in Venice, California.

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William D

Mathieu Demy, first-time writer/director of "Americano," is the son of two legendary filmmakers, Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy. He's a well-established actor in France, but this is his first big break into making his own films. Will he follow in his parents'… More
Mathieu Demy, first-time writer/director of "Americano," is the son of two legendary filmmakers, Agnes Varda and Jacques Demy. He's a well-established actor in France, but this is his first big break into making his own films. Will he follow in his parents' footsteps? No way. Weirdly enough, he seems to have no instinct for filmmaking. The story construction is terrible, and the direction is flat. Demy plays a Parisian man whose estranged American mother has just died. He flies to Los Angeles on his own to wrap up her affairs. I thought the film was going to explore the challenge of being bi-cultural and the particular ways that French and American cultures confront each other. I thought the title was a reference to this character's feeling somewhat American and somewhat French. But no. Almost immediately after arriving in Los Angeles, the character (who is played by Demy) leaves for Mexico and spends almost the entire film there. He is searching for a woman whom his mother adored. He thinks he has found it in a stripper/prostitute (played by Salma Hayek) who works in a decrepit dump in Tijuana. The story goes nowhere. He keeps trying to talk to the stripper and gets thrown out of her club. When they finally do speak, nothing of consequence happens. There are numerous clips from an old film, which I think is "Documenteur" made by Agnes Varda in Los Angeles in 1981. I also believe the boy in the clips was Mathieu Demy himself, acting in his mother's movie. This provides some added resonance, with Demy exploring his relationship with his actual mother and the ways that movies were interwoven into his family's life. But it doesn't come off well. The clips seem to be functioning on a level all their own, more distracting than enhancing. Demy ultimately seems not to be sure of what he wanted to say with "Americano." He had a few different ideas in mind, and none of them really got developed. Overall, a quite seriously disappointing cinema experience. Sad to say, but I don't think Demy Junior is headed for a significant career in filmmaking.

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Americano (2012)

Critic Reviews

Featured Audience Ratings

William D

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