LatinaLista — John Sayles, known in film circles as one of the godfathers of independent film in the United States, is known for wearing his politics, in this case, writing his politics into his screenplays. The result has been that critics either love it or hate it.
Sayles’ latest film Go For Sisters is almost eliciting the same response from reviewers. The difference this time is that no one is outright panning his film but, instead, finding certain redeeming elements that make it worth a watch.
It’s ironic that these same critics would see a redeeming value in the film since the concept of ‘redemption’ is the very thing Sayles is striving for in his story.
Go For Sisters is about a probation officer whose son goes missing across the border in Tijuana. His mom finds out that her son’s friends aren’t exactly stellar pillars of society. Afraid for her son’s safety, she turns to an old friend who happens to be an ex-con and one of her parolees.
Together they mend their friendship, enlist the aid of a retired and discredited detective and go on a journey that takes them below the surface of Mexico’s drug culture where they’re racing against the clock to find her son before he’s killed.
The film stars Edward James Olmos as the retired detective, along with Lisa Gay Hamilton and Yolonda Ross. All three main characters are people of color, something Sayles said he had in mind when writing the screenplay.
For anyone who is a student of Sayles’ work, it’s obvious that the story is more than about a mother just finding her son.
The concepts of friendship and loyalty are universally applauded, but often complicated in practice. Both can be
tested by hard times and difficult situations, and I wanted a story in which each of the characters had to take a risk
for somebody else, to venture into unknown and potentially dangerous territory ~ John Sayles
The film is in limited release throughout November, December and the early part of January.
