Great Film overall

Good concept, poorly executed.

It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

América is a young girl of Argentine descent who lives a life of mischief with her aunt and uncle in the United States. Her life drastically changes when her aunt dies and she is sent to live with her grandmother in Argentina, where she has a hard time getting accustomed to the new way of life. The story being told by the director is an interesting one with a lot of potential to impact viewers. However, the movie looses a lot of its value with the lack of good acting, rich dialogue, and an upbeat tempo. The main character becomes sort of exhausting to watch after a while because of the way she acts and how she talks to her friends and family. Moreover, the dialogues between América and her family seemed too simple and raw most times, giving off an uncomfortable feeling for the audience. Lastly, the development of various scenes seemed too slow at times, causing the audience to become bored. The very end however, came about extremely quickly, resolving the plot too abruptly.

After the death of her aunt, young America is sent to Argentina to live with her bitter and controlling grandmother. It is a difficult transition for the trouble teen that has a history of bad-tempered outbursts and shoplifting. She does not respect her grandmother and refuses to obey her. The plot at the beginning progresses very slowly and the acting by the characters in the scenes in the US leaves something to be desired. Once America arrives in Argentina her transition from rebel to young lady takes place extremely slowly and one wonders if it will ever take place. Though her grandmother seems strict at first, the audience quickly takes her side and feels sorry for all of the difficulties she has to go through because of her granddaughter and her stroke. The music in the movie was perfectly suited to the scenes. At first I was disinterested in the movie and wondered if it would be worth finishing but once America begins her journey to becoming mature the movie is really worth watching.

(There are minor spoilers in this review.) This film is an exceptional character study of a displaced American in Argentina, but you really have to get past the first thirty minutes to get to the heart of the movie. The first third of the film, that takes place in the United States, is amateurish (to be kind). But once the main character changes locations to Argentina, meets up with her grandmother, forges friendships, and encounters setbacks does everything about the movie change dramatically for the better—the quality of acting, the cinematography, the direction, even the music. Check it out, but wait patiently through those rough first thirty minutes.

This is a truly well-made and heartfelt film about a girl growing up in difficult circumstances. There are quite a few films that cover the subject matter, but very few manage to capture it with as much emotion, sincerity and realism as this once does. I can't understand why films like this one are never given the attention they rightfully deserve--films that have something to say and know how to say them, refusing to compromise their integrity or pander to sensationalism--while cinemas are overflowing with dime-a-dozen films that are either remakes or retreads of other movies that were not very good in the first place. In the .22 caliber world of film-making that we currently live in, movies like "3 Americas" are like a .357 magnum.