The American Tapestry

The American Tapestry

2000 · 96 min · ★ 10.0 · Documentary, History

Showtime's "In the 20th Century" is a millennium-related strand of feature-length documentaries in which famous directors take on major subjects of their choosing. In the last of the six films, "The American Tapestry," filmmaker Gregory Nava takes viewers on an uplifting and challenging journey through the memoirs of five immigrant families, each one on a quest for its own American Dream. Beautifully interweaving accounts from several generations, Nava composes an astonishing tapestry of personal triumphs and tragedies, as each story of courage unfolds. The American Dream is an elusive thing, and the lives of the people in Nava's film are both triumphant and tragic, teeming with optimism and sometimes despair. They expose the finest and worst in America as well as what we feel most magnificent and dreadful. They are part of the many contrasting threads that make up the American tapestry — a complex portrait of a nation at the turn of the millennium.

Directed by Gregory Nava

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In the 20th CenturySee all →

The Pursuit of Happiness

The Pursuit of Happiness · 1999

The Pursuit of Happiness

MovieDocumentaryHistory

Showtime's "In the 20th Century" is a millennium-related strand of feature-length documentaries in which famous directors take on major subjects of their choosing. In the fourth of the six films, "The Pursuit of Happiness," filmmaker Robert Zemeckis delves into the history of America's relationship with mind-altering substances over the past 100 years, presenting interviews with historians and professionals in the drug treatment field, interspersed with a treasure trove of film and television clips depicting the highs and lows of smoking, drinking and drugging in the 20th century.

Yesterday's Tomorrows

Yesterday's Tomorrows · 1999

Yesterday's Tomorrows

MovieDocumentaryHistory

Showtime's "In the 20th Century" is a millennium-related strand of feature-length documentaries in which famous directors take on major subjects of their choosing. In the third of the six films, "Yesterday's Tomorrows," filmmaker Barry Levinson delves into what we, as Americans, thought the future would be as we traveled through the 20th century. Houses and cars of the future, the promise of technology, and the other hopes and dreams of the early part of the century gave way to the fears and anxieties brought about by the atomic age and the Hollywood disaster films that followed. Soon we wondered if we could control technology, or if it would control us. This film is by turns light-hearted and thoughtful, and rare historical and archival film, produced by government and industry, alternates with on-screen interviews with people as diverse as consumer advocate Ralph Nader, cartoonist Matt Groening, futurist Alvin Toffler, comedienne Phyllis Diller, and actor Martin Mull.

Funny Is Money

Funny Is Money · 1999

MovieDocumentaryHistory

Showtime's "In the 20th Century" is a millennium-related strand of feature-length documentaries in which famous directors take on major subjects of their choosing. In the fifth of the six films, "Funny Is Money," filmmaker Norman Jewison delves into the topic of comedy, using the hype surrounding the finale of the wildly successful NBC series "Seinfeld" as his launchpad to explore how the artform has evolved over the past 100 years.

In Search of the Happy Ending

In Search of the Happy Ending · 1999

In Search of the Happy Ending

MovieDocumentaryHistory

Showtime's "In the 20th Century" is a millennium-related strand of feature-length documentaries in which famous directors take on major subjects of their choosing. In the first of the six films, "In Search of the Happy Ending," filmmaker Garry Marshall delves into the institution of marriage as it has evolved in America throughout the past 100 years.

From Behind Closed Doors

From Behind Closed Doors · 1999

From Behind Closed Doors

MovieDocumentaryHistory

Showtime's "In the 20th Century" is a millennium-related strand of feature-length documentaries in which famous directors take on major subjects of their choosing. In the second of the six films, "From Behind Closed Doors," filmmaker Robert Townsend delves into America's fraught relationship with sex and sexuality, using New York's Times Square as the focal point as he traces 100 years of sexual mores and practices.

More from Gregory NavaSee all →

American Family

American Family · 2002

American Family

The head of the household, Jess Gonzalez, is your average father who is forced to fight everyday troubles, following the death of his loving wife Berta. Their beloved daughter Nina has recently graduated from law school and decides to work for Legal Services on behalf of immigrant rights, although Jess does not agree with her decision. The rest of the Gonzalez family just tries to go with the flow, but they find their own problems down the road.

Selena

MovieDramaMusic

In this biographical drama, Selena Quintanilla is born into a musical Mexican-American family in Texas. Her father, Abraham, realizes that his young daughter is talented and begins performing with her at small venues. She finds success and falls for her guitarist, Chris Perez, who draws the ire of her father. Seeking mainstream stardom, Selena begins recording an English-language album which, tragically, she would never complete.

My Family

My Family · 1995

MovieComedyDrama

Traces over three generations an immigrant family's trials, tribulations, tragedies, and triumphs. Maria and Jose, the first generation, come to Los Angeles, meet, marry, face deportation all in the 1930s. They establish their family in East L.A., and their children Chucho, Paco, Memo, Irene, Toni, and Jimmy deal with youth culture and the L.A. police in the '50s. As the second generation become adults in the '60s, the focus shifts to Jimmy, his marriage to Isabel (a Salvadorian refugee), their son, and Jimmy's journey to becoming a responsible parent.

Frida

MovieDramaRomance

A biography of artist Frida Kahlo, who channeled the pain of a crippling injury and her tempestuous marriage into her work.

El Norte

El Norte · 1983

MovieAdventureDrama

Brother and sister Enrique and Rosa flee persecution at home in Guatemala and journey north, through Mexico and on to the United States, with the dream of starting a new life.

The End of August

The End of August · 1981

The End of August

In the turn of the century South, a woman feels unfulfilled by marriage and motherhood and has an affair with a younger man. Later, the woman leaves her family and tries to start a new life alone.

American Playhouse

American Playhouse · 1982

American Playhouse

SeriesDramaComedy

American Playhouse is an anthology television series periodically broadcast by Public Broadcasting Service in the United States.

The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema

The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema · 2002

The Bronze Screen: 100 Years of the Latino Image in American Cinema

MovieDocumentary

Documentary about the presence of Latin American culture and actors in American movies.

The Journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva

The Journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva · 1972

The Journal of Diego Rodriguez Silva

Director Gregory Nava's award-winning student film.

Why Do Fools Fall In Love

Why Do Fools Fall In Love · 1998

Why Do Fools Fall In Love

MovieDramaRomance

In the mid-80s, three women (each with an attorney) arrive at the office of New York entertainment manager, Morris Levy. One is an L.A. singer, formerly of the Platters; one is a petty thief from Philly; one teaches school in a small Georgia town. Each claims to be the widow of long-dead doo-wop singer-songwriter Frankie Lyman, and each wants years of royalties due to his estate, money Levy has never shared. During an ensuing civil trial, flashbacks tell the story of each one's life with Lyman, a boyish, high-pitched, dynamic performer, lost to heroin. Slowly, the three wives establish their own bond.

The Haunting of M.

The Haunting of M. · 1979

The Haunting of M.

MovieHorrorHorror

This ghost story, set at the turn of the century, centers on the plight of elderly dowager Marianna, who is tormented by the alleged specter of a young man roaming the corridors of her mansion. After spotting a face in an old photograph that seems to match the old woman's description of the "visitor", Marianna's sister decides to check things out and see if any of this is for real.

Bordertown

Bordertown · 2007

MovieCrimeDrama

American corporations are using the North American Free Trade Agreement by opening large maquiladoras right across the United States–Mexico border. The maquiladoras hire mostly Mexican women to work long hours for little money in order to produce mass quantity products. Lauren Adrian, an impassioned American news reporter for the Chicago Sentinel wants to be assigned to the Iraq front-lines to cover the war. Instead, her editor George Morgan assigns her to investigate a series of slayings involving young maquiladora factory women in a Mexican bordertown.

A Time of Destiny

A Time of Destiny · 1988

A Time of Destiny

World War II provides the setting for a melodramatic tale of love and revenge.

The Confessions of Amans

The Confessions of Amans · 1976

The Confessions of Amans

In medieval Spain, an young, traveling philosopher tragically falls in love with his pupil, when he is hired by an uneducated Lord to tutor his beautiful wife.

John Sayles and Gregory Nava

John Sayles and Gregory Nava · 2024

John Sayles and Gregory Nava

“In this conversation, recorded for the Criterion Collection in Los Angeles in 2023, filmmaker Gregory Nava talks with director John Sayles about the development and production of Lone Star and Sayle’s career in independent cinema.”

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