kijii The movie opens with a young Irish family of four—father, mother, and two young daughters—crossing the Canadian-American boarder in their station wagon. We realize that they are entering illegally when the father prompts his family to say that they are entering America on holiday. But, the younger daughter accidentally blurts out that her dad has no job. When the boarder guard gets distracted while admiring the two girls, he smiles, waves them through and says, 'Welcome to America.' Thus begins the modern story of a brave and persevering Irish family trying to 'start over' while carrying the ghost of their late son and brother, Frankie, with them in their minds and spirits. (They all seem profoundly affected by Frankie's recent death.) The four principal characters in the story are Johnny (Paddy Considine), his wife, Sarah (Samantha Morton) and their two daughters, Christy and Ariel (played by real-life sisters, Sarah and Emma Bolger.) The movie's story is told through the eyes and narration of the older daughter, Christy, who constantly carries her camcorder around with her.After the family arrives in NYC, they are forced to live in a virtually unkept building filled with perverts and drug addicts. One of the inhabitants includes the mysterious recluse 'man who screams' and has a KEEP OUT sign on his front door. Sarah takes a job selling ice cream while Johnny searches for employment as an actor and the girls enroll in a Catholic girls' school. As they struggle to survive, they must sell their car and Johnny has to take a night job as a cab driver. The movie is a thesaurus of emotionally moving scenes and subplots, including the quest to get an air conditioner to survive the New York summer heat and the girls' discovery of an American custom: trick-or-treating on Halloween. As the girls go trick-or-treating in their building, they knock persistently on the door of 'the crazy screaming man.' When he finally answers the door, he is angry. But he is soon won over by these wonderful little girls' vulnerability and openness. This is when 'the crazy screaming man,' a black African artist named Mateo (Djimon Hounsou) first enters the movie as a full character. Mateo becomes very close to the family. But, he is also dying of a terminal disease. (We are led to believe that the disease is AIDS).Sarah becomes pregnant, but her pregnancy is difficult and requires even more sacrifice from the family. (She is determined to see it through to the end, no doubt trying to replace their lost child, Frankie.) We—the audience--are now caught up in three simultaneous struggles: that of Sarah to give life to their unborn child; that of Mateo's death; and that of the family to give up the pain of Frankie's recent death.This autobiographical movie is lovingly put together by the Sheridan family. Jim Sheridan directed this film as well as co-writing its Oscar nominated script with his nieces, Naomi and Kirsten Sheridan. The movie is dedicated to Frankie, who—according to the IMDb-- died of a brain tumor.

pj-naturalfinance This movie is about many things. The main plot line is family pain and struggle.What makes this movie great though is its portrayal of mental health and its "solutions". One is just reaching out to a hermit. The beauty and power of children to accomplish this.The power of that message is in this song. Sarah Bolger has an absolutely incredibly fantastic and beautiful singing voice, and the song's punchline is "let somebody love you before its too late"That message applies to her character's parents, and the more obviously sad character in the film.

billcr12 In America is a heart felt love letter to America written by the director Jim Sheridan and his daughters Naomi and Kirsten and what a beautiful story it is. A man and wife travel to the United States with their two little girls played by real life sisters Emma and Sarah Bolger. Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton are the mother & father. The four actors, most especially the kids, provide some of the best performances I have ever seen. Mr. Sheridan's first film was My Left Foot with Daniel Day Lewis. The man knows how to direct and get the most out of his cast. The grittiness of New York City in the summer heat is captured brilliantly and the great melting pot which is the big apple is portrayed perfectly. I live in a suburb north of NY City, so I've had the opportunity to visit from time to time and the movie captures the soul of NY as well as any movie I've seen. Sheridan has stated that the story is based on his life and experiences arriving here with little money and few prospects.The family struggles to survive and like many previous generations from around the world they learn to adapt there surroundings very quickly. I will not spoil this with to many details, I will just recommend this to anyone looking for something worthwhile.

tanelteder First of all, I'd like to say that I was hugely impressed. Mostly because of the work Jim Sheridan has done here. An excellent Irish director who has his own unique way to create very good movies. As I understand this movie is quite personal to him and dedicated to his family. It's easy to see why. The movie is all about family. It shows what a great influence a family has for its members. What it means to stick together and to climb over all the obstacles life throws on the road. But the most important note the movie points is the power of overcoming a loss of a family member. Very lovely and inspirational movie. It has its tragic and heartfelt scenes which make In America a wonderful movie. Recommended for all the families.Great job by Jim Sheridan because of creating an atmosphere where there is no first-class movie stars, but still cast is one the strongest part of the movie. It shows you the worth of this movie.