But I am not reviewing sandwich this time; althought I could... No, Spanglish is one of those movies that I remember watching, liking it, but not being sure what the movie was about. I mean. the story is easy to understand, and the characters in them are very vivid - amongst all of them; Paz Vega's character as Flor, the Mexican maid and single mom, just steals it. The pacing, the tone throughout the movie, all the elements in the movie come together to make a movie that is really enjoyable from beginning to end. But I didn't really understand, but I think I finally got it.
The whole story is narrated as an admissions essay for a scholarship into Princeton University; the question being asked is who is the most influential person in your life. The narration starts with Flor and Cristina in a small town in Mexico. Flor is heartbroken because Cristina's father left them. This is what triggers Flor's decision to move to the United States, ilegally; which I found it to be an interesting touch... not a whole lot else is told about the struggles, only that they lived in a Latin American community in Los Angeles; which is why Flor never needed to learn English. Then after six years Flor has the need to get a better paying job to watch over her daughter's... blossoming.
In the job interview with the white upper-class family, the Claskys, Flor's name is mispronounced as 'floor'. This small detail in the movie is what helped me realize what this movie was all about. Floor, as in grounded, is what Flor represents; it's all about keeping good morals, traditions - a good heart - despite harships and challenges in life. And in order to not completely break that foundation; sometimes a heavy personal sacrifice has to be made.
See, before I could not properly understand the narration when Flor's inner struggle was being mentioned, nor could I understand why Flor reacted so heavily when Deborah tricked Flor into letting her daughter sleep over. Then I realized the quiet battle between these two women is on many fronts. On this one angle, Flor represents that tradition of good family values; while Deborah is more forward thinking, but the problem with Deborah is that her priorities are all mixed up. She is giving Flor's daughter a whole lot more attention than her own in multiple accounts... It actually had little to do with it being a sleep-over.
I also could not understand at the end scenes of the movie where the phrase 'I need space' was not something that Flor would stand her daughter saying. Maybe it was about breaking tradition, or maybe it was about not allowing this to cause damage in their relationship... Actually, I'm still not sure.
I could go on and on reviewing every character and the relationships with each; like how Deborah feels like Crisitina understands her in their interactions; so on and so forth... but no, the important part of this movie is about what Flor represents, and that is what I could not understand in my first viewings.
So no, this movie is not a food movie, aside from a sandwich. It is not about Adam Sandler, or about a romantic relationship between two people who have a language barrier; which is what the trailers made me believe back then. Yes, there is a growing romance between John (Sandler) and Flor, but their relationship is much more... adorable than that.
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