YELLOW ROSE
One of my worst traits is being that person who says they like all music…except country. And with that being said, a movie like YELLOW ROSE (trailer here) should be my worst nightmare—but it won me over with its warmth and heart. Rosario “Rose” Garcia, a seventeen-year-old Filipina immigrant, fits right in with her Texas peers from her leather boots to her cowboy hat. Making music is her favorite hobby, and she writes and sings country music in the motel room she and her mother call home. But things become turbulent when ICE begins sporadic raids in her area. While out with the cute boy from the guitar shop one night, Rose’s motel room is raided and her mother is arrested. Rose is forced to rely on the kindness of distant relatives—and in some cases complete strangers—in order to survive this new life without her closest family. She comes to use music as more than just a way to kill time, singing and sharing her songs with others as an outlet. The film is punctuated with stylish country needle-drops, atmospheric and charming. This is not a typical coming-of-age story with all of its twists and turns, but it is a story about love, perseverance, and the necessity of affection in human connection.
—Victoria Moniz, Development Intern
