La critique de James Berardinelli (1)

In America is a unique and moving look at the so-called "immigrant experience" that is as much about family dynamics as it is about the struggle to survive in an unfamiliar country. Directed, co-written, and co-produced by Jim Sheridan, who is best known for his Daniel Day-Lewis collaborations, My Left Foot, In the Name of the Father, and The Boxer, In America represents a balanced portrait of the highs and lows of life for those who have ventured beyond familiar terrain in the search of something new.

Johnny and Sarah (Paddy Considine and Samantha Morton), along with their two young daughters, Christie (Sarah Bolger) and Ariel (Emma Bolger), have arrived in the United States from Ireland via Canada. They have left behind not only everything they knew, but raw memories of a son whose tragic death still haunts them. With all of their worldly possessions in a station wagon, they arrive at a dilapidated New York City apartment that they struggle to make into a home.

It isn't easy - nor is getting money to pay the rent. Johnny finds that rejection is a way of life for a would-be actor. Sarah becomes the family breadwinner by working as a waitress at a local ice cream parlor. The unexpected friendship shown by the mysterious Mateo (Djimon Hounsou) represents a turning point in the family's attempts to cope with their new life and come to grips with the ghosts that still haunt them.