Saw a very interesting film on Netflix earlier in the evening:
"I'm No Longer Here"
Netflix
Article I found from the LA Times discussing his international fame from the film, and his life. I hope there are some who will take the time to give it a squint.
His first movie was shortlisted for an Oscar. What’s next for Mexico’s overnight star?
https://ca-times.brightspotcdn.com/dims4/default/f28c0d1/2147483647/strip/true/crop/604x403+0+0/resize/1024x683!/format/webp/quality/90/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fad%2Fc4%2Fc0c2590746b6a1acd157ed2daa25%2Fwebp.net-gifmaker%281%29.gif
Actor Juan Daniel García Treviño, 21, star of the movie “I’m No Longer Here” (“Ya no estoy aquí" ), shows off some dance moves in La Independencia, a working-class neighborhood where the movie was filmed, on March 22 in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon.(Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times)
BY KATE LINTHICUMSTAFF WRITER
MONTERREY, Mexico — There is a scene near the end of the film “I’m No Longer Here” (“Ya no estoy aquí"
in which the lead character, a stoic Mexican teenager named Ulises, walks along a highway in New York City, huffing paint thinner.
Forced to flee his country after a misunderstanding with a gang, Ulises has been crushed by the isolation of immigrant life and is ready to give up.
For Juan Daniel García Treviño, who was a 16-year-old construction worker with no acting experience when he was cast as Ulises, it was the most difficult scene to film because it recalled his own harrowing adolescence in a notoriously rough region of northern Mexico.
The son of a drug dealer, García left school at 10 and spent his youth on dirt streets on the outskirts of the industrial city of Monterrey. He lost multiple friends to violence and drugs, including a 15-year-old friend whom García watched die of an overdose when he was 12.
More:
https://www.latimes.com/entertainment-arts/movies/story/2021-05-10/im-no-longer-here-movie-juan-daniel-garcia-trevino
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Juan Daniel García in “I’m No Longer Here.”Credit...Netflix
N Y Times review:
‘I’m No Longer Here’ Review: A Boy Adrift
In this thoughtful portrait of cultural identity, a teen from Monterrey, Mexico forges a new life in Queens.
By Natalia Winkelman
Published May 27, 2020
Updated May 28, 2020
In the sensitively observed drama “I’m No Longer Here,” the mellow rhythm of cumbia music is the soundtrack to the life of Ulises (Juan Daniel García), a laconic 17-year-old in Monterrey, Mexico. He belongs to Los Terkos, a youth dance crew in the area, and his style and grade-A dance moves make him a leader among the group. But when a misunderstanding with a local cartel puts Ulises in their cross hairs, he is forced to leave Mexico or risk being killed.
Now streaming on Netflix, the film opens on its lead character saying goodbye to his homeland. The story then intercuts between his lively days in Monterrey and his struggle to survive as an immigrant in the New York City neighborhood of Jackson Heights, Queens. There, Ulises is treated as either an unwelcome outsider or an object of cultural fascination. He finds an eager friend in the 16-year-old Lin (Angelina Chen), who becomes entranced by Ulises after she finds him sheltering on the roof of her grandfather’s bodega.
The writer-director Fernando Frías de la Parra, whose directing credits include the first season of the HBO series “Los Espookys,” renders Ulises’ difficulties with an admirable light touch. Through wide shots and long pans, the film surveys the character’s distinct environments, highlighting the gap between his community in Monterrey and his alienation in Queens. Music also serves as a symbol of the culture Ulises left behind; on multiple occasions, he tries to share cumbia with American acquaintances who can’t quite engage in its joy.
At points, the story drags. But “I’m No Longer Here” offers an authentic portrait of a boy adrift from home. The film is most alive while plumbing teen counterculture in Monterrey, where Los Terkos — played by nonprofessional actors — are as natural haggling with a local shopkeeper as they are dancing to their favorite tunes. Frías de la Parra is thoughtful and precise in conveying the cultural identity of these young people, and their spirit pulses through the story.
I’m No Longer Here
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/27/movies/im-no-longer-here-review.html