American Me
| American Me | |
|---|---|
Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Edward James Olmos |
| Produced by | Edward James Olmos Robert M. Young Sean Daniel |
| Screenplay by |
Floyd Mutrux Desmond Nakano |
| Story by | Floyd Mutrux |
| Starring |
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| Music by | Claude Gaudette Dennis Lambert |
| Cinematography | Reynaldo Villalobos |
| Edited by | Richard Candib Arthur Coburn |
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Production
company |
Olmos Productions
YOY Productions |
| Distributed by | Universal Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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126 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $16 million |
| Box office | $13,086,430 |
American Me is a 1992 biographical crime drama film produced and directed by Edward James Olmos, his first film as a director, and written by Floyd Mutrux and Desmond Nakano. Olmos also stars as the film's protagonist, Montoya Santana. Executive producers included record producer Lou Adler, screenwriter Mutrux, and Irwin Young. It depicts a fictionalized account of the founding and rise to power of the Mexican Mafia in the California prison system from the 1950s into the 1980s.
The film depicts 30 years of Chicano gang life in Los Angeles. It focuses on Montoya Santana, a teen who, with his friends, J.D. (Steve Wilcox) and Mundo (Richard Coca), form their own gang. They soon find themselves at the wrong place at the wrong time and are arrested.
In juvenile hall, Santana murders a fellow inmate (Eric Close) who had raped him and as a result, has his sentence extended into Folsom State Prison after he turns 18. Once there, Santana (now played by Edward James Olmos) becomes the leader of a powerful gang, La Eme. Upon his release he tries to relate his life experiences to the society that has changed so much since he left. La Eme has become a feared criminal organization beyond Folsom, selling drugs and committing murder.
Santana starts to see the error of his ways but before he can take action, is sent back to prison for drug possession. There, he tells his former lieutenant, J.D. (William Forsythe) that he is no longer interested in leading the La Eme. However, following a precedent set by Santana himself earlier in the film, his men murder him to show the other prison gangs that, despite having no leader, they are not weak.
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