Another standout film from last year’s Sundance, Esteban Arango’s Blast Beat was one that everyone said I needed to check out. Sadly, I couldn’t make it work, but now that this unconventional coming-of-age story is opening next month that can change
Starring Mateo Arias, Moises Arias, Daniel Dae Kim, Kali Uchis, Ashley Jackson, Diane Guererro, and Wilmer Valderrama, Blast Beat follows a Colombian family who flee to the United States in search of the American Dream, only to find the reality isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.
The story being told here is one that we’ve seen many times before, but Arango, who also co-wrote the script, seems to have added enough personal touches to make it unique. How many movies about metalheads with a dream of becoming a NASA aerospace engineer do you know?
Blast Beat opens in theaters and digital on May 21st.
On the cusp of the year 2000, Colombian brothers Carly (Mateo Arias) and Mateo (Moises Arias) prepare to move to the United States for their last years of high school. Metalhead Carly has his heart set on attending the Georgia Aerospace Institute and working for NASA, while his supportive parents (Diane Guerrero and Wilmer Valderrama) seize the chance to escape the political turmoil in Colombia and chase the American Dream. At first, Mateo is the only one to express any cynicism, but when the reality of their new life sinks in, the family struggles to adapt as their expectations are shattered. When events threaten to derail their future, Carly’s dream becomes his only lifeline.
