Entertainment

Joyful Doc Lacks Context – The Hollywood Reporter

Aside from Ken Burns or Steve James or Alex Gibney, or maybe Liz Garbus, very few documentary filmmakers can name their official terms. They make a feature or something longer based on what the market requires or more often based on money or access restrictions.

So it’s not like Sam Osborn and Alejandra Vasquez, the director of Going to Varsity in Mariachi, necessarily look at their available footage and say, “Sure, we know this is really the best TV series, but it’s not.” They tell stories they can tell and if Going to Varsity in Mariachi is one of those good movies with 104 minutes, but can be spectacular after 8 hours, unfortunately that’s just the state of the business sometimes. And Going to Varsity in Mariachi is pretty good as it is, an extremely sane and often vibrant feature. But most of my reservations boil down to “Need more [insert lack here].”

Going to Varsity in Mariachi

Key point

Healthy fun, but lacks depth and context.

Place: Sundance Film Festival (American Documentary Competition)
Directors: Sam Osborn and Alejandra Vasquez

1 hour 44 minutes

The documentary begins with the assertion that in Texas, more than 100 public high schools have competitive mariachi teams. The best teams come from the Rio Grande Valley, with our primary focus being Mariachi Oro of Edinburg North High School.

Coached by Abel Acuña, Mariachi Oro has traditionally been at the top of mariachi teams but as the first day of the 2021 school year approaches, it’s a team in transition. They had an inexperienced string division, trumpeters known for their goofiness and a guitarist who had only learned the instrument a few weeks before.

The documentary follows Mariachi Oro throughout the school year, from previous rehearsals to preliminary events to state competitions. Along the way, we get to know Acuña, a mariachi devotee who single-handedly performs tasks that can be distributed to four or five people at schools with more resources. We make time for a number of students, including violinist Abby, who are in need of scholarships to fulfill their dreams of attending college away from home; versatile guitarist Marlena, in a new relationship with the famous singer Mariah; and violinist Bella, whose sisters are hoping to follow in her footsteps.

Osborn and Vasquez follow a very basic chronology—we’re constantly getting updates on when the next contest is—and they cover the basics very well. The main standards of mariachi are given on-screen identity, and thanks to Acuña’s personal devotion, viewers and students can know the names of several important historical figures in the genre.

What we don’t get is a very clear illustration of how competitive mariachi works. There is reference to a scoring system, but as actual events unfold, it is difficult to analyze which teams are doing better or worse in that system, which reduces the motivation of the documentary . The team gets better as the documentary progresses, but I can’t begin to tell you if they’ve actually gotten any better. And while we glimpse at least two other teams and meet their coaches, that’s not enough for viewers to develop any real ability to compare.

Sometimes the music is just bubbly ambient noise and the documentary is made by its signature “characters” who are instantly lovable and whose stories are instantly compelling. to the point where I’m happy to spend hours with them. The relationship between Marlena and Mariah is responsible for two or three of the documentary’s highlights and provides a sweetness that nearly pervades the entire film, even if those two or three scenes are essentially all of it. what you have. Drake’s struggles, both with his new instrument and with a new girlfriend who distracts him from his mariachi commitment, include pitiable blunders. Abby’s eagerness to distance herself even from the family she loves is completely understandable.

Even with the main characters, long periods of time pass when their personal stories give way to somewhat perfunctory preparatory montages, and it’s hard not to notice that important parts of the orchestra Mariachi Oro, including her alleged goofiness in the brass section, is largely absent. There’s a chance to expand into a full season, a chance for something like America with me or Last Chance Uwith double the number of featured students, more opportunities to create arcs for kids we know we like, and maybe an opportunity to provide insights and personality to programs opponents as well as their different approaches to mariachi.

There’s too much contextt Going to Varsity in Mariachi feel like it could add. Edinburg never emerged as a character, leaving no impression on the region on a socio-economic or socio-political level, given its proximity to the border. So when Acuña gets a text from the local sheriff, there isn’t enough background information to know if it’s ominous or encouraging. Perhaps because of access restrictions, it doesn’t make any sense that Edinburg North is a high school community. So when Mariachi Oro is having a hard time finding resources, there isn’t enough background information to know how the group is perceived in the school system and where the resources are going.

So all my complaints are a “Give Me More” annoyance. Clock Going to Varsity in Mariachi for fun music and adorable kids. Perhaps if it succeeds, Osborn and Vasquez can revisit it as a movie where it always made sense.




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