January 28, 2021
"Yellow Rose" is a rare American film that starred breakthrough Fil-Am actress Eva Noblezada and Filipino international star Lea Salonga. We have heard about it since 2019 when it premiered in a Los Angeles film festival to favorable reviews. Fil-Am writer-director Diane Paragas had been working to bring this story about a familiar experience among the Fil-American community to the big screen for 15 years. Finally, it will premiere in the Philippines, streaming online on KTX and various other local online platforms.
Rose (Eva Noblezada) was the 17 year-old daughter of Priscilla Garcia (Princess Punzalan), an employee in a motel in the suburbs of Austin, Texas. One night, when Rose went to watch a show in Austin with her friend Elliot (Liam Booth), Priscilla was arrested by immigration officers for being an illegal alien. Left to fend for herself, Rose went to meet and stay with a number of kind people who tried to help her get by -- her Auntie Gail (Lea Salonga), bar owner Jolene (Lilli Villari) and country singer Dale Watson (as himself).
Coming fresh from her Tony-nominated performances in Broadway shows like "Miss Saigon" (as Kim) in 2017 and "Hadestown" (as Eurydice) in 2019, this was Eva Noblezada's first film project. She played Rose as a typical teenager, sometimes rebellious, sometimes bratty. She argued against her mom's strict rules, but she was still in touch with her Filipino roots. Noblezada was very natural and comfortable as she went through Rose's ordeal, especially when she wrote and sang country ditties, like her pleading solo "Square Peg."
It had been such a long time since either Princess Punzalan and Lea Salonga had been in a movie, so it was great to see them back in action, even in supporting roles. Punzalan's Priscilla was a regular Filipina mother, very protective of her child, bearing her difficult predicament on her own. Salonga's appearance as Auntie Gail was even shorter, but she did not miss the chance to sing a snippet of a Filipino classic song, which I hoped would have been a full-fledged duet between Salonga and Noblezada.
All the American characters, Dale, Jolene, Elliot and even Elliot's immigration lawyer cousin Aleta Peacock (Susan Myburgh), were all very supportive of Rose, which seemed idealistic, but quite refreshing to watch. There was even an unexpected moment of kindness from a young immigration police officer. Noblezada's songs with Dale Watson all sounded very radio-friendly, like "Circumstance," "Quietly into the Night" and the finale number "I Ain't Goin' Down," which conveyed Rose's course of action.
The film is only about 90 minutes, but there were times when the pacing slowed down and the story felt repetitive. There were two very similar scenes with Rose leaving a benefactor's house in an impulsive huff, both of which did not feel like the right thing that should've happened. However, Noblezada's sincere performance, the well-performed catchy country songs, and the different approach to the oft-tackled undocumented alien story, still managed to make things engaging despite these little lags in story-telling. 7/10.
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