Excellent movie! Sad. Inspiring.

This movie is flat out one of the best movies I've seen about immigrants and their struggles in the U.S. I like this movie especially concerning how the dad worked for someone else at first, then tried to become a private contractor. Just like what my dad did. My parents came illegally to the U.S. in the 70s, my dad got his papers in the early 80s through a sponsor and then my mother got her papers through the "Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986" that President Ronald Reagan signed into law. My dad and his brothers came to the US dirt poor. My dad worked in odd jobs or in factories at first in the late 70s when he came, but then got into A/C for a short-time but then eventually became a Sheet Metal Worker -- focusing on creating/installing Industrial Dust Collectors and duct work for factories. He was an apprentice for an engineer -- taught him and his brothers everything he knew. The engineer passed away in 1985; my uncles and my dad took a profitable company with many clientele. My mom, on the other hand, worked at a nursery in the late 70s and in the early 80s worked in a manufacturing factory for flashlights, but then had to quit since she had to take care of two boys. She became a housewife. My dad became the only bread winner. We were/are a 50's family. An American story? Yes. Only in America.

The chemistry between the boy and the dad was truly authentic. Very moving when he figures out what he dad does to provide for him and to make his life better. I would have hoped the boy and the dad spoke more in Spanish than in English - just like in my experience. The movie was extremely relatable if one is a first generation Mexican. I can relate to the boy back in my teenager days in some ways. It's quite ironic that growing up I never really knew what my dad did for a living since he didn't know how to explain it to me in English nor did he have the time since he was always working. My friends would ask me sometimes and so would my teachers, didn't know how to respond to them during K-8th grade. It's something that's prevalent amongst first generation Mexican kids -- dads are usually absent from Mon.-Fri. only at night-time they do spend an hour or less with their kids. On the weekends, we did have our days together as a family. Keep in mind this was during the 90s. Things weren't bad. My dad was a legal resident then but became a U.S. citizen later.