As Good As It Gets

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Unshakable, witty and deeply felt, the film will be paying emotional dividends for a long, long time.

America has long been the land of dreams, of freedom for the oppressed, and for the promise of a better life for immigrants. Recent events including the rise and effects of terrorism and the inundation of illegal immigrants from south of the borders have alerted this country to perceived dangers in the 'open arms' posture America has maintained since its beginning. LANA'S RAIN is a stunning film that shifts the focus of immigration to the viewpoint of those immigrating and the result is a story that is at once terrifying and heartrending. Writer/director Michael S. Ojeda asks us to look at the plight of those seeking American asylum, and though the result is a film that is a bit heavy handed, there is an important message here.The story begins in 1995 in Bosnia during the Balkan wars and we are introduced to the main character Lana (Oxana Orlenko) struggling to survive in the war-torn streets. She seeks and finds her long lost brother Darco (Nickolai Stoilov) who happily receives her and promises to take her to America using some 'recently acquired money'. After stowing away on a cargo ship they arrive in Chicago and are immediately smitten with the beauty of their new land. While Lana dreams in a city park with their luggage containing the money and all their possessions, Darco seeks a place to live. While Lana is sleeping and dreaming of her new life, the luggage 'disappears' and when Darco returns they must now seek shelter and food as beggars. Darco talks Lana into an act of prostitution out of desperation: Lana consents only to fall into the hands of a sadistic client.Gradually the two find a room, Darco is promised a job in a fish market, but the job is not available for a month. Once again Darco asks Lana to be a prostitute, this time under his 'supervision and protection' as Lana speaks no English at all. Lana woefully consents out of her love for her brother and the two make enough money for room and food. But when Darco begins spending money beyond their means and his past life of crime in Bosnia surfaces in various ways, Lana feels demoralized and defeated and finds her only consolation in a fragile friendship with a Chinese sculptor Julian (Luoyong Wang), despite the language barrier. Ultimately Darco's past life and evil spirit take the forefront and Lana feels compelled to assist those Bosnian forces in Chicago who seek Darco for past crimes in his homeland. How Lana survives this life and finds her own life forms the end of the story.Though the film is unrelentingly grim in color, story, excessive bloody faces, and undercurrents, director Ojeda does make his point that all too often immigrants are driven into a life of crime out of desperation to stay alive in the land of plenty. The actors are convincing in their roles and while Lana's plight grows a bit repetitive and tiresome at times, Orlenko keeps us caring about her Lana. Likewise Nickolai Stoilov creates a two-sided character so successfully that we can believe Lana's love then hate for him. This is a dark film but one with an important message. Just be prepared for a violent movie. Grady Harp

This film is better and grittier than many dramas with ten times the budget, and there are plenty of suspenseful moments to keep even the most indie-phobic skeptic intrigued. Oksana Orlenko (who won an award in Milan for her performance) and Nickolai Stoilov are seamless as the charismatic leads, while Michael S. Ojeda's direction makes the best use of their talents and the skills of his cinematographer (Gennadi Balitski), as well as his own script.I disagree with the one reviewer (out of ten so far) who didn't like the "execution" of this film. I think it is a perfect mix of action scenes that grab you, and intense character-driven dramatic moments that allow for time to take in all that has happened. Ojeda really captures the sense of peril one feels without a dime and no place to go. That gash in Lana's forehead on the film's poster gives an idea of how deep the film is, and the roller-coaster ride awaiting anyone who watches it. I wish I had seen it in the theater. Grade: A

This movie was not bad .. It fulfilled the requirements for a film marking a foreign lady - main charachter (Lana) incompetent in her efforts to change in America at first. Her sustained psychological traumas and tribulations are just the icing on the cake before she passes the test to mark the grade of survival to the fittest in America - Chicago, Illinois to be specific.. Good Feature. I'd give this a 7.5 on a scale. Video rental is reccomended, and dont rush out unless you're a chicago native and want to glance at interstates , congestions and license plates unique to modern ChicagoJonathan

There was an interesting idea for a film and a great film could have come out of it. It involves a young woman who has fled the violence in Bosnia with her gangster brother to find paradise in Chicago. Once here, they are both disappointed and soon the thuggish brother convinces his sister to prostitute for him to earn a living. There was potential for great tragedy here, and after I saw the film, there were news reports of such slave-prostitution rings involving Eastern European girls run by the mob, being uncovered here and and in New York, so it was a timely subject. However, the director doesn't trust that he has a great story. He resorts to typical shootouts and violence which would be more at home in an Andrew Davis Chicago action picture. Also the film is stylized to a riddiculous MTV/Miami Vice degree, and the horrible soap opera music at every minute of the running time doesn't help. The director seems torn between making a serious 70's style drama like Taxi Driver, and typical action-exploitation pictures. Few directors can pull this off successfully (Walter Hill comes to mind) There's also a romance between Lana and a Chinese American that goes nowhere and could have easily been left on the cutting room floor. It's a shame because the leads hold up their ends and are terrific, particularly the actor who played the brother. He has a bright future in acting.