Educational Media Reviews Online

No One’s Watching is a quiet movie that follows the story of an Argentine actor in New York City, touching on colorism in the film industry, the reality of the American Dream, and the silent turbulence that exists in disappointment. Nico has left Argentina, and a successful acting career, in the wake of romantic failure with a married director. He’s been told that he will have roles in films and will be able to make it in America, but he just must bide his time. He fills the hours when he’s not auditioning with nannying and odd jobs, getting paid in cash, living in a friend’s apartment.

Nico is a character who lived a big life in his home country and has been made small in this new world. He goes to auditions and is told he doesn’t look Latino enough – he's too light-skinned, he has blonde hair - to read for Spanish-speaking and Latino roles. His accent is too thick to read for roles meant for white actors. The pitfalls he encounters are indicative of a larger problem in the film industry, a real-world problem often discussed by actors of color.

The feeling of invisibility, that “no one’s watching,” leads Nico to acts of petty crime, shoplifting from bodegas and using the child he’s caring for as a cover. Feelings of insignificance and disappointment in what he thought life in America would be like lead to divisions in his life, alienation from his support systems. This movie doesn’t shy away from the lesson that the United States is not a land of equal opportunity, nor is it a place where anyone can succeed. The American Dream that so many believe in comes with some harsh realities as well.

Julia Solomonoff directs this movie, letting the quiet movements speak loudly, and the unspoken ideas have time in the spotlight, giving the viewer the space to make the connections and view the realities.

This film is in both Spanish and English, and deals with some mature relationships and ideas, but would be suitable for upper level high school courses and college courses. While approximately 75% of the dialogue is in Spanish, this film would be appropriate for any courses dealing with the movie industry, immigration, life in the United States, or LGBTQIA+ themes.

Shown at the Havana Film Festival, Tribeca Film Festival, Gijon Interntional Film Festival, Calgary International Film Festival, Rome Film Festival, and Vancouver Latin American Film Festival.

Awards:
Winner, Tribeca Film Festival, Best Actor

Published and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. Anyone can use these reviews, so long as they comply with the terms of the license.