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Truth is, I know no more about San Francisco’s Mission District than the next gringa. But “La Mission,” written and directed by Peter Bratt and starring his brother Benjamin Bratt, both Mission natives, has the ring of truth, as well as a rousing good story.
Che Rivera (Benjamin Bratt) is a widower with a less-than-sterling past: time in prison, alcoholism. Now sober, he’s the essence of machismo. Tough and admired by his homies, he drives a Muni bus and works on low-rider cars. If he has a weak spot, it’s for his son, Jes (Jeremy Ray Valdez), who’s about to graduate from high school and has been accepted at the University of California at Los Angeles. But when Che discovers that Jes is gay, he goes berserk, beating the boy up and throwing him out of the apartment.
Che is also harassed — as he sees it — by his new upstairs neighbor, Lena (Erika Alexander), an attractive African-American woman who objects to Che’s blocking the driveway with his cars. But gradually the tension between the two eases, as Lena helps scrub out the word “faggot” that neighborhood punks have painted on the garage door, and Che fixes Lena’s bike for free, throwing in a pair of fuzzy dice, “for luck.”
The story runs on a bit too long — we could do with one fewer change of heart — but it’s still believable and affecting. What’s also convincing is the Mission atmosphere: the vivid murals and the music (more rap than salsa), the strutting, macho violence, and the neighborly feeling among Che and his neighborhood buddies. The scenes of low-rider cruises, with whole families participating in the parade of beautifully restored and decorated vintage cars through downtown San Francisco, have the feel of reality. So do scenes at Mission High School, footage of religious ceremonies and pick-up basketball games.
Benjamin Bratt, veteran of many films and TV series, gives a powerful performance as the volatile Che. Jeremy Ray Valdez, in his debut performance as the courageous Jes, shows a lot of promise. I also liked Erika Alexander’s Lena — the only significant female in the film — though I would have liked more attention to her background.
Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content. 1 hour, 57 minutes.
By Renata Polt
Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content. 1 hour, 57 minutes.
By Renata Polt
Rated R for language, some violence and sexual content. 1 hour, 57 minutes.
By Renata Polt
