Wonderful character development!

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

This film is so real. It treats its characters with so much care and sensitivity.

This movie needs a month long run on HBO or Showtime, to remind people of how good it is, and hopefully create a buzz that would lead to a bluray release. Anyone with a remote appreciation of a terrific screenplay, solid acting, and neo-realistic direction would have to love this movie. Edward James Olmos directs, and stars as main character Santana Montoya. Santana's parents are victims of a brutal and disturbing attack during Los Angeles's "Zoot Suit Riots" in the 1940s which sets the tone for Santana's power driven and violent life. A childhood of gang activity in East Los Angeles eventually lands Santana in Folsom State Prison, where in the 1960s he starts La Eme, otherwise known as the Mexican Mafia. The gang controls all illicit commerce inside of the prison walls, from drugs to prostitution. While paroled in the early 1970s, Santana meets Julie (Evalina Fernandez). Julie, who's aware of Santana's high profile in the criminal world, and is resentful of it for the most part, falls for him when she learns that while in prison he'd studied and read books about the Chicano political movement. Santana's childhood friend and fellow gangster, JD (William Forsythe), also a member of La Eme despite being white, is skeptical of Santana's relationship with Julie, and believes Julie's pacifist politics are rubbing off on Santana, which would make La Eme look weak in the gang world. When Julie's cousin, "Little Puppet" (Daniel Villareal) commits a major infraction within La Eme's rules, Santana is given an ultimatum by JD to either endorse a gang hit on Little Puppet, or risk that his leadership of the gang would come into question, likely resulting in his own death. A series of incidents, including a drug overdose and a bizarre end to a date between Santana and Julia, put the two at odds, which leaves Santana at a crossroads of maintaining his gang status (and his life), or trying to salvage what little remains of his relationship with the only woman he'd ever loved. What results is both riveting and sad, and, as intended by Edward James Olmos, leaves a message about Chicano gang life in Los Angeles. Enough controversy surrounded the movie to make another movie about in and of itself. In fact, the DVD has a documentary included in the special features called "Lives in Hazard", which goes into further detail, while also giving terrific insight to the streets of East Los Angeles in the early 1990s, including interviews with real gang members who were used as consultants and actors.This one has fallen through the cracks, and it shouldn't have. It has a story, dialogue, and even great cinematography (which effectively captures downtown and East Los Angeles during three different eras in history) that help the film hold up twenty plus years after its release.

Okay, basically a prison movie, and not the good kind. It is men's prison. The exposition worked okay, from the "protagonist's" conception through his youth, and then the endless train of criminality. From there to the even greater evil of organized crime. Maybe it is necessary to organize into ethnic gangs for protection in prison, but it is not necessary to deal drugs, or rape, or murder. Anyway this film descends into the genesis of the Mexican Mafia prison gang and it just gets more and more gruesome. It may or may not be a realistic view of prison life, but I for one do not really need to see the violence, the racism, the butt-f***ing, or any of it. (By the way don't you just love the way somebody can rape another man, but still not consider himself a homosexual?) I would say skip this film. There is certainly some good acting done, but it's all just to sick to overcome.

Let me justify my extreme rating: this is not the worst movie I have ever seen but I only give it a one out of ten because of the ridiculously high rating it has on IMDb and I want movie-aficionados to not make the same mistake I did and assume it's a movie worth buying.Yes it is an accurate portrait of prison life and all that, but man, the musical score resembles that of late 80s TV-movies and soap operas. The decors (except inside the prison) to me do not feel like they're filthy south central LA streets. The vocabulary used is as stereotypical and over the top as if it's a braindead kind of video game. More "ORALE's" in here than f-bombs and "DUDES" combined the big lebowski. And this limited and insulting range of words combined with the cardboard acting result in paper-cut, one dimensional, zombie characters. If you're a 12 yo kid who likes the godfather and scarface (but steven seagal too), you'll love this. But if you're looking for a quality cinematic experience, skip it and watch a documentary about "la EMe" instead.

I remember when I first saw this movie. I was like 12 years old. I thought it was cool as h*ll ! I actually saw it again today. Its a very good movie. Sal Lopez does a very good job playing the Mexican crimelord in the Mexican maffia, "LaEme" I think that the film shows us all that there is hope. Even for the hopeless. In the end, Santana realises whats important in life.very good actors in the movie period. It may seem a little bit old even for a 90:es flick. Great movie. 8/10