“Ma, this is for you.”

From Yellow Rose.

Living in small Texas town, Filipina teen Rose (Eva Noblezada) spends her time split between writing country songs and helping her strict immigrant mother, Priscilla (Princess Punzalan), manage a small motel.  Rose develops a friendship with the young music store clerk, Elliot (Liam Booth), and the two bond over their shared appreciation of classic country music.  When Rose and Elliot sneak away to Austin to attend a Dale Watson (played by himself) concert at a bar, Rose expects to be grounded when she gets home, but she finds her mother being arrested by ICE when she returns home, instead.  As Rose is running towards her mother, Priscilla screams at her to run away, to stay off ICE’s radar, and go to stay with her Aunt Gail (Lea Salonga).  When Rose shows up on Gail’s doorstep, the girl struggles to connect with the aunt that she never realized was so close or the uncle (Thom Hallum) and cousin (Sophie Zimmy) that she never knew existed.  Rose soon leaves her aunt’s home to instead stay with and work for Jolene (Libby Villari), the owner of the bar where the Dale Watson concert was held.  Priscilla repeatedly tells Rose to go back with Gail, but she refuses to go back to the family that she felt didn’t want her.  Rose stays with Jolene until another ICE raid forces her to run to stay with Dale, whom she befriended while working at the bar.  With Elliot and his lawyer cousin checking on her, Rose must decide if she wants to return to the Philippines with her mother or stay in Texas to follow her musical dreams.

Doubling as a tribute to country music and a reflection on the illegal immigration issues, this drama is unique and memorable.  The music scattered throughout is captivating, and arguably the driving force of movie.  Yellow Rose is an interesting reminder of the power of music and shared humanity.

| Rated: PG-13| Running Time: 94 minutes |Genre: drama/music|

||Family Viewing||Cursing: 4* of 10|Nudity: 0 of 10|Sexuality: 0 of 10|Gore: 0 of 10

|AVAILABLE FOR HOME VIEWING|