Montoya Santana (Edward James Olmos) is in prison as he recalls his life. His parents were zoot-suiters beaten by regular society. Her mother is raped by soldiers and Montoya is 16 years old 16 years later. He starts a gang with his friends J.D. and Mundo. During a break-in, J.D. is shot and the guys are thrown into juvenile hall. Santana kills his rapists on the first night. It earns him lots of respect and also a stay in Folsom State Prison once he turns 18. In Folsom, Santana (now played by Olmos), J.D. (William Forsythe) and Mundo (Pepe Serna) have a powerful gang called La Eme. They are ruthless. They use their power inside the prisons to leverage expansion once they are on the outside. Santana eventually has a change of heart.
There is a nice sense of realism. It helps that the movie is inspired by some real people. It's not glossy. It doesn't glamorize the thug life but it's also not that gritty. Olmos has a quiet demeanor which does take away some of the energy. This is not some fun gangster movie or necessarily a scary prison movie. Edward James Olmos as a director is relying more on a simplistic style. He doesn't have the skills to make this cinematic. It feels sincere. It feels familiar.
There is a nice sense of realism. It helps that the movie is inspired by some real people. It's not glossy. It doesn't glamorize the thug life but it's also not that gritty. Olmos has a quiet demeanor which does take away some of the energy. This is not some fun gangster movie or necessarily a scary prison movie. Edward James Olmos as a director is relying more on a simplistic style. He doesn't have the skills to make this cinematic. It feels sincere. It feels familiar.