Americano attracted my attention because of the cast, especially Salma Hayek and Geraldine Chaplin. Turns out that the movie features relatives of a few different famous folks. The story is not very compelling and many strands are dropped after being started, rather than woven together in a satisfying way.
The overall story can be summed up as that of a French man with serious Freudian issues regarding his mother. Upon her death, the man is forced to confront his lifelong jealousy of a Mexican girl whom his mother cared for after having abandoned him as a child. The search for the elusive ¨Lola¨ takes him to the brothels of Tijuana, where for about half of the movie he is fooled by a prostitute into believing that she (Salma Hayek) is Lola. Only when he finally learns that Lola is in fact dead can the man return to France to reunite (apparently) with his estranged lover, having at last recovered from his Freudian issues.
The Geraldine Chaplin character turns out to be a cameo (albeit longplaying), as her contribution to the story is nearly nil, only to provide the man with a red Mustang which he ends up getting destroyed in Mexico (though, remarkably, the car thieves leave his bag with passports and cash in the trunk of the crashed car? What?!). The prostitute, despite having lied about her identity, ends up being the lucky recipient of the inheritance (a condo) intended for Lola. Why? I suppose because #HollywoodSoWoke!
The overall story can be summed up as that of a French man with serious Freudian issues regarding his mother. Upon her death, the man is forced to confront his lifelong jealousy of a Mexican girl whom his mother cared for after having abandoned him as a child. The search for the elusive ¨Lola¨ takes him to the brothels of Tijuana, where for about half of the movie he is fooled by a prostitute into believing that she (Salma Hayek) is Lola. Only when he finally learns that Lola is in fact dead can the man return to France to reunite (apparently) with his estranged lover, having at last recovered from his Freudian issues.
The Geraldine Chaplin character turns out to be a cameo (albeit longplaying), as her contribution to the story is nearly nil, only to provide the man with a red Mustang which he ends up getting destroyed in Mexico (though, remarkably, the car thieves leave his bag with passports and cash in the trunk of the crashed car? What?!). The prostitute, despite having lied about her identity, ends up being the lucky recipient of the inheritance (a condo) intended for Lola. Why? I suppose because #HollywoodSoWoke!