Some things I liked some I did not.

Perfectly adorable

Good start, but then it gets ruined

Brilliant and touching

Lana and Darko are a brother and sister who escape war torn Bosnia by hiding in a metal storage container on a cargo ship headed for the United States. Lana is a sweet, innocent young woman who has witnessed a great deal of personal tragedy in her life, while Darko is a well known mobster who is basically running for his life from forces who are out to get him. After an arduous trip across the Atlantic, the two settle down in Chicago to start a new life in America. When they fall on hard times, Darko decides to pimp his sister out for money while his dark past begins slowly but surely to catch up with him.Although it aspires to be a gritty film about real people struggling to survive in a harsh environment, "Lana's Rain" comes across as an overwrought melodrama, poorly acted and even more poorly directed. The story is so filled with theatrical flourishes that little of what we see actually rings true. Just a minor case in point: towards the beginning of the film, as the unloaded crate in which they are hiding is speeding its way from the east coast to Chicago, Lana and Darko look through a hole in the side, and lo and behold what do they happen to see passing by but the capitol building in Washington D.C.! I'm surprised director Michael S. Ojeda was able to resist throwing in shots of the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon as well. Unfortunately, this relatively insignificant gaffe becomes symptomatic of the film as a whole which is all too often willing to sacrifice plausibility for the sake of dramatic effect."Lana's Rain" is a serious missed opportunity, for what could have been a meaningful and sensitive film on an important subject turns into a series of hokey dime-store novel vignettes instead.

This is a film about a brother and sister who escape war-inflicted bosnia to arrive in chicago. soon their enthusiasm evaporates however, when their money is stolen. this is a beautifully directed film, and i was lucky to attend the premier in chicago and speak with the actor who plays darko. i think both leads are fine actors, and the film works very well. its very realistic, very gritty, and very intense. I think about half of the dialogue is spoken in croatian, and that adds to the realism of the film. many moments are very heartbreaking, like when lana tries to learn english by reading a dr. seuss book. I also loved the way the director portrayed chicago. he is obviously very familiar with the city and it shows. overall, i highly recommend it.

This was an intriguing suspenseful movie with a great soundtrack. Excellent photography. One of my favorite shots is just after the main characters have traveled to America in a ramshackle shipping container and open the doors to.... well I won't spoil it for you. Some words that might be used to describe this film might me; gritty, shocking, captivating, metamorphic, gripping, and resilient. It combines elements from many film categories like, action, suspenseful and historical dramas, a real thriller with a dark transformation plot.This is the tragic story of Lana who was betrayed by her own brother. But just when things seem bleakest for Lana, her hope for a new life.... well I won't spoil it for you.Take the time to find it and see it.

There was an interesting idea for a film and a great film could have come out of it. It involves a young woman who has fled the violence in Bosnia with her gangster brother to find paradise in Chicago. Once here, they are both disappointed and soon the thuggish brother convinces his sister to prostitute for him to earn a living. There was potential for great tragedy here, and after I saw the film, there were news reports of such slave-prostitution rings involving Eastern European girls run by the mob, being uncovered here and and in New York, so it was a timely subject. However, the director doesn't trust that he has a great story. He resorts to typical shootouts and violence which would be more at home in an Andrew Davis Chicago action picture. Also the film is stylized to a riddiculous MTV/Miami Vice degree, and the horrible soap opera music at every minute of the running time doesn't help. The director seems torn between making a serious 70's style drama like Taxi Driver, and typical action-exploitation pictures. Few directors can pull this off successfully (Walter Hill comes to mind) There's also a romance between Lana and a Chinese American that goes nowhere and could have easily been left on the cutting room floor. It's a shame because the leads hold up their ends and are terrific, particularly the actor who played the brother. He has a bright future in acting.