 my family is a 1995 independent american drama film directed by gregory nava, written by nava and anna thomas, and starring jimmy smits, edward james olmos, and esai morales. the film depicts three generations of a mexican-american family who emigrated from mexico and settled in east los angeles... ==plot== the story is narrated by the family's oldest son, paco (edward james olmos). the film begins with the father of the family, josÃ© sanchez (jacob vargas), making a journey that lasts one year on foot from mexico to los angeles. he travels to los angeles to meet a distant relative known as el californio, who was born in the city when it was still part of mexico. they become fast friends and grow a corn farm together. however, after several years, el californio nears death. shortly before dying, el californio says he wants the following written on his tombstone: :when i was born here, this was mexico, and where i die, this is still mexico. josÃ© meets and marries the love of his life, marÃ­a (jennifer lopez), an american citizen. after marÃ­a is illegally deported to mexico by the u.s. federal government in a mass roundup, she makes it back to los angeles via a long and arduous trip two years later, where she returns home with their new son chucho. twenty years later in the 1958 or 1959, eldest daughter irene (first played by marÃ­a canals, later by lupe ontiveros) is getting married. chucho (esai morales) and paco (benito martinez) have grown up. new additions to the family include toni (constance marie), guillermo "memo" (played by greg albert as a child, and by enrique castillo as an adult), and brother jimmy (jonathan hernandez as a child, jimmy smits as an adult). the film begins to gain momentum after the wedding, when a series of events seal chucho's fate. one night at a dance hall, chucho is dancing with his girlfriend, when his rival butch mejia (michael delorenzo) starts to bother him. this results in a bloody kni
1990s_drama_films 1995_films American_Zoetrope_films American_films English-language_films Films_directed_by_Gregory_Nava Films_set_in_1958 Films_set_in_Los_Angeles,_California Films_set_in_the_1950s Films_set_in_the_1970s Mexican_American_films New_Line_Cinema_films Spanish-language_films