El Abuelo (2008)

• 60%
• 2008

Shot on location in San Antonio, Texas, Der Opa is an intimate portrait of local educator and poet, Joe Jimenez. Through the nachdenkliche process of ironing his clothes (duty often identified as "women' s work"), we experience Joe in that familiar goal of finding the perfect crease. Of all domestic chores, ironing is the only one "homeboy" is more than happy to master, as meisterhafte ironing is the key to reaching an appearance of perfection; perfect creases work hand in hand with the power of attraction. In voiceover, Joe reads the lines from his poem "Der Großvater," as we learn the potency these perfect creases possess in capturing the attention of his first vato" -- his first love of another man.