Yellow Rose

I love broadway, I love musicals, and I give high respects to world class artists like Lea Salonga and Eva. In fact, Lea is my most favorite singer of all time. As a music fan, One would expect some hit songs from the soundtrack of this movie. The storyline, acting, and plot were amazing. Very relatable, story is realistic, and it creates awareness for our Filipino brothers/sisters who are living as immigrants. From a Filipino perspective, I am happy that this movie speaks to all the Filipinos all over the world, people would give more welcome and compassion to them. However from a music lover's perspective, I think the songs were too simple and not much effort was put in writing them. Sounds like they were written by a 12-year old kid in 5 minutes. "Square peg, Round hole" Seriously? The songs did not give justice to these world class singers as the cast. They should've hired a professional songwriter. This movie could've released the next award winning hit song. I also wish that they gave more screen time to Ms. Lea Salonga. I think they did not maximize her presence in this film. Anyways aside from that, Overall the movie was still good. Kudos to the producers!

I was enthralled by this film. Its got a strong emotional pull about the underdog - and how in this case she overcomes so many obstacles to try and make a life for herself. She gets helps from some unexpected sources. There are a lot of themes covered in this film - breaking into music, a vicious deportation, separation of mother and daughter, abandonment... At times it can get overly emotional - dare I say sentimental - but I loved it! It pulls at the heartstrings! There is little subtilty in this film - its all in front of you!

The story is about a undocumented migrants from Philippines Mother Priscilla (Princess Punzalan) and 18 year old daughter Rose (Eva Noblezada) living in Texas USA. Mother works as a cleaner in a hotel, while Rose while studying and aspires to be a musician. Tragedy strikes when Immigration officers arrest Pricilla and Rose survives in the USA with the help of her friend Elloit (Liam Booth) and a local musician Dale (The real Date Watson) while mother is deported back to Manila. Eva Noblezada (of Miss Saigon -25 anniversary Opera fame) as Rose carries the film on her tiny shoulder with versatile acting skills and musical skills. She is aptly supported by all the others in the cast. Dale Watson (composer and actor) has played his own self in both the earlier short and this movie and he is the one who becomes a catalyst and instrumental in bringing the hidden musical talents of Rose out on the stage in public. The story is fresh, and the treatment is light. There are many hummable numbers (17) in the movie and some of them are good. In 2017 Directress Daine Paragas had made a short movie (15 minutes) with the same name and similar story. That must have given the seed to this full-feature film. The background music and the locales are Austin, Texas are very good. It is a feel good story that every aspiring growing girl will relate to. I would go with 6.5 out of 10 for this movie.

"You can take the roof from over my head, but you can't take my freedom away. No I won't go quietly into the night and I'll sing till the light of day." This movie should be used as an example. It showcases a good story that's entertaining to watch, but the writing is the most basic script they could write. I found myself struggling with Yellow Rose. The story is solid and everything is pretty good. The writing just feels like a joke. I started playing a game in my head on what would be said in the upcoming scene and I'm pretty sure I won. With the poor writing the movie became increasingly predictable. That being said, the movie is good, but there needed to be more time and thought put into the script. Eva Noblezada really drives the movie. This is her film debut and she's perfect for the lead. Her experience on stage helped her prepare for the screen. And as a beautiful singer it's great to hear her voice. Rather than hiring a popular celebrity (and maybe someone to sing for them) choosing an already established singer was the right thing to do. The movie is emotional and Noblezada brings the emotion. As a whole, the ensemble does a good job with acting, with the exception of one or two lackluster performances. I'd recognize Lea Solonga, Princess Punzalan, Dale Watson, and Libby Villari. Since the movie is rooted around music, it does feature original songs. Dale Watson, the country singer, wrote songs to be performed by both him and Noblezada. I personally enjoyed the songs, even if I don't like country as much. But that's what this movie is: a love letter to country. Maybe not as strong as some other movies dealing with the choice of music but it aims to be there. One of my main concerns going in was one of my favorite movies of last year Wild Rose. Obviously the titles are very similar, but the both deal with a lead character, both with the firsts name Rose, wanting to become a country star. Luckily, Yellow Rose doesn't follow the same plot. It focuses more on topic of illegal immigrants and the drama that comes with that. The message is clear but just not as strong as it could be due to the writing. I could talk about all the good but it will always come back to the writing. I like the movie and I will revisit it in the future. This won't be for everyone, either because of the shallowness, country music, or an ending that feels incomplete. I'd still recommend it as an emotional yet feel-good type of movie.

Touching story of Rose, an undocumented Filipina teen, living in Texas. After her mother is picked up by ICE, Rose is left with some difficult choices and circumstances. While trying to navigate life as an illegal immigrant, in fear of being deported, Rose pursues her dream of being a country singer-songwriter, meeting some supportive and caring folks along the way. This understated film is very well acted by the entire cast and though the story is simple it tugs at your heartstrings. I like that the teen romance took a back seat and was just a small facet of the film and there was more focus on the songwriting and the music. Which is beautiful and emotionally sung by the actress Eva Noblezada (Rose) and country musician Dale Watson, who also stars in the film (as well as a beautiful Filipino lullaby sung by Lea Salonga.) . Rated PG-13 for a few (authentic and not just for the heck of it) swear words. A beautifully told story IMHO! 5/2021.

But it's unfinished. 😩 The story line is ok-ok...but the direction and impact are lacking... In my opinion.✌🏻

This is an important film about immigration, music, and the variety of ways we all try to become the people we want to be. While the acting can come off as a bit stiff with writing that is a little too superficial and full of tropes, the music of Eva Noblezada and Dale Watson, along with a critical story about the struggles of being undocumented and chasing your own dreams, make this very much worth a view!

Before I watched this movie I had no idea who Eva Noblezada was. I was so impressed with her performance, both her acting and her truly marvelous singing voice, I had to look her up. Even though she plays a 17-yr-old high school student living with her mom, she in fact was about 22 during filming. Earlier in her career she starred in the Broadway musical "Miss Saigon" and was nominated for the 2017 Tony Award for best actress in a musical. Her performance at the 2017 Tonys is easy to find on U-tube, it is worth looking up. So here she is Rose Garcia, her mom works at the Bastrop Inn and they live there, both undocumented. Rose plays guitar and writes songs for herself but she has a lot of budding talent. When her mom gets taken away she has to seek places to stay and one big help is a local Austin country music star. He puts her up for a while and helps her find her voice and be brave enough to sing in front of people. This is a good movie and Eva Noblezada is very good. There has to be a singing arc and because she is such an accomplished singer she must sing initially with much restraint. Only as the movie is ending do we witness her full vocal abilities. I like Eva Noblezada, I hope we see her in future movies. To me there is a parallel with Jessie Buckley, the Irish actress who is so good in "Wild Rose", also an aspiring country singer in that movie. My wife and I watched it on DVD from our public library.

Underrated drama about undocumented immigrant with big dream in Texas. Diane Paragas brought intimate narrative to put audience at every step of Rose Garcia's journey. Beside great vocal abilities, Noblezada made strong presence as female country singer too.

This story about a girl who chases her American dream in the face of unrelenting hardship is a hero's journey. The director and cast masterfully guide us while playing every heart string. I laughed I gasped I cried I swore and I cheered. Bravo.