Quinceanera

On its surface, "Quinceanera" is a coming-of-age flick about Hispanic girls in East Los Angeles who have big celebrations when they turn 15. But these elaborate events, which include formal ceremonies and Hummer limos, are just window dressing.

It's a coming-of-age yarn, all right, but what's aging and changing is East L.A. itself, notably the Hispanic Echo Park district. When an affluent gay couple move in next door to old-timer Tomas (Chalo Gonzalez), a wave of tradition-challenging gentrification starts.

For the time being, this puts pressure on impoverished Tomas to keep his home, where he lives with impetuous great-great-nephew Carlos (Jesse Garcia) and Carlos' cousin Magdalena (Emily Rios). She's next in line to turn 15, but she has upset the apple cart by becoming pregnant and fleeing her disapproving dad.

She's actually innocent — the victim of what a doctor calls "nonpenetrative conception." Ostracized by friends and her own would-be boyfriend, Magdalena grows tight with Tomas and Carlos to form an ad hoc family of struggling survivors.

Tomas, who has never married, is a kind, fatherly type, which helps ground Carlos, a pothead who works at a carwash and hangs out with the new gay guys next door. Yet Carlos has his own wells of pathos and resolve, and when they pour out at film's end, it may break your heart.

This tale is told with humor, warmth and potent performances by relative unknowns. The acting is sometimes too naturalistic, with unintelligible overlapping dialogue, but much of it is an eloquent mix of English and subtitled Spanish.

Rich slices of ethnic life are routine for indie cinema, but that doesn't discount their power of illumination. Like the recent "Wassup Rockers," "Quinceanera" shows a Latino side of L.A. that's often lost in the shuffle of sensationalist entertainment ("The Fast and the Furious") or indifference. Sometimes, keeping it real is all we ask, and this film gets the job done.

"Quinceanera" is rated R for language, some sexual content and drug use. Running time: 90 minutes.