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A poet loses his voice where it all began—and not metaphorically, honey.
TMDB
54
Rotten Tomatoes
42
Audience Score
39
Watch(US)

Spoken Word (2009)

gritty poetryfamily woundsbrown reclamation

Overview

Drama

A San Francisco spoken word artist returns to New Mexico to be with his dying father, only to find he loses his "voice" as he is sucked back in to the dysfunctional life of drugs and violence he left behind.

Flag of USUS
Content warning
artistic identity vs. rootsgenerational traumathe myth of escape

Standout Aspects

Acting

Rubén Blades brings devastating quiet to a dying patriarch.

Writing

Spoken word sequences that actually land—rare.

Best for:Solo: Late night when you're feeling too much and need company.·Streaming: When indie gems are your whole personality.
Heads up:Drug Use: Heroin relapse depicted unflinchingly, including needles.·Violence: Gang-adjacent confrontations escalate to bloodshed.
Victor Nuñez

Director

Victor Nuñez

ReleasedJul 17, 2009
Runtime1h 56m
StatusReleased

Vibe

Paceslow
Intensitymedium
Tonedark
Feelheavy

Top Cast

Kuno Becker

Kuno Becker

Cruz

Miguel Sandoval

Miguel Sandoval

Emilio

Rubén Blades

Rubén Blades

Cruz-Sr.

Persia White

Persia White

Shea

Tony Elias

Tony Elias

Ramon

Monique Gabriela Curnen

Monique Gabriela Curnen

Gabrielle

Beth Bailey

Beth Bailey

Reporter

Jernard Burks

Jernard Burks

Renegade

Monique Candelaria

Monique Candelaria

Cruz Montoya's Mother

Deborah Chavez

Deborah Chavez

Candace

Maurice Compte

Maurice Compte

George

Courtney Cunningham

Courtney Cunningham

Robyn

Castulo Guerra

Castulo Guerra

Dr. Lopez

Ask about Spoken Word

Opens AI chat

Deep Dive

Trivia, insights & behind the scenes

Trivia

Rubén Blades improvised several scenes in Spanish; Victor Nuñez kept the cuts despite script differences.

Cultural

One of few 2000s films centering Chicano spoken word, featuring actual Nuyorican Poets Cafe alumni in small roles.

Gallery

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