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Ernesto's Manifesto
USA 2019
produced by Nereida Dellan, David M. Matthews, Julie Di Cataldo, Fernando Hidalgo (executive) for Fernando Hidalgo Productions LA, Stone Gate Entertainment
directed by David M. Matthews
starring Fernando Hidalgo, Amy Davidson, Adam Huss, Lisandra Tena, Randy J. Goodwin, Tabitha Caulfield, Sean Carrigan, Norma Maldonado, Paul Schackman, Al Coronel, David Burr, Keith Andreen, Alesha Renee, Ashley Platz, JC Gonzalez, Marlon Corona-Dellan, Kurtis Bedford, Ronald Corona-Dellan, Brandon Plush, David M. Matthews, Brenna Otts, How Zany, Alissa Latow, Jernard Burks, Angela Robitaille, Dana Gaier, Jono Cota, Kathleen Kinmont, Halbert Hernandez, Stacy Lafay, Amari McCoy, Michael Sun Lee, Guido Massri, David J. Wright, Skyler Wright, Tyler Case, Tommy Blatnick
written by David M. Matthews, music by Marc Ellis, David M. Matthews
review by Mike Haberfelner
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Now from the get-go, Ernesto (Fernando Hidalgo) seems like a ready-made
loser, and so it's not surprising that the day he loses his job, he also
loses his girlfriend Veronica (Lisandra Tena) and his house, and the fact
that he insists on continuing to be just nice to everyone really makes him
seem all the more pathetic - but it also gets him a new job as a waiter at
a restaurant rather quickly, as his good-naturedness and honesty just
impress the place's manager (Al Coronel), and later also its owner Jerry
(David Burr), who even goes so far as to let Ernesto live in his own guest
house. But then Jerry dies, and Ernesto's future, both in terms of
employment and accommodation, is put into question. Enter Austin (Adam
Huss), the new tenant of Jerry's main house, who at first invites Ernesto
over to a party merely out of courtesy, but he soon takes to Ernesto's
naive charm (that somehow has to do with Ernesto's lacking grasp of the
English language), and being a movie director, he makes him consultant on
his new film, later associate producer, then producer. On set, Ernesto
meets lovely makeup girl Cassie (Amy Davidson) and takes an immense liking
in her, but soon gets into the crosshairs of her boyfriend Kyle (Sean
Carrigan), plus he's caught drinking on the job - which he did only to
shield a young actress (Tabitha Caulfield) from being taken advantage of
-, the production is threatened with a shutdown, and Jerry's actual heir
(Keith Andreen) tries to evict him - and suddenly it needs more than just
sheer luck and being a nice guy to keep things going in the right
direction. But is Ernesto even up to that?
Now I won't lie, Ernesto's Manifesto is a feelgood
movie of the wise simpleton variety that has its moments of kitsch
and tear-jerking qualities to it, so it's definitely not everyone's cup of
tea - but what makes this movie is that it's as a whole pretty much as
sincere as its titular character and doesn't give in to the temptation of
sugarcoating everything for the sake of emotional overkill but put its
focus on stringent storytellingand palpable characters. And Fernando
Hidalgo manages to give his Ernesto real soul, and he's supported by a
strong ensemble for sure. Likewise, the direction is subtle as can be to
make this flourish to full effect. So even if you're not into this kind of
film (and in general I'm not either), you might find yourself liking this
one more than you expect.
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review © by Mike Haberfelner
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