Adam Mayfield, comedy, Cristo Fernandez, drama, Gonzalo Garcia Vivanco, Las Tres Sisters, Laura Patalano, Mariela Corona, Marta Mendez Cross, Mexico, movies, Orianna Hernandez, Pilar Ixquic Mata, reviews, Virginia Novello
March 3, 2025
by Carla Hay
Directed by Mar Novo
Some language in Spanish with subtitles
Culture Representation: Taking place in Mexico and in the United States, the comedy/drama film “Las Tres Sisters” features a predominantly Latin cast of characters (with some white people) representing the working-class and middle-class.
Culture Clash: Three Mexican American sisters go on a trek through Mexico in tribute to their deceased grandmother and have conflicts along the way.
Culture Audience: “Las Tres Sisters” will appeal primarily to people who are interested in watching an adult-oriented comedy/drama about sibling relationships.
The comedy/drama “Las Tres Sisters” sometimes has an awkward mix of being sentimental and bawdy. However, this story about three squabbling sisters on a trek together in Mexico is engaging and heartfelt. This is the type of movie that covers a wide range of emotions and tackles issues such as secrets that family members keep from each other.
Directed by Mar Novo, “Las Tres Sisters” (which “las tres” means “the three” in Spanish) was written by Marta Méndez Cross, Youssef Delara, Valeria Maldonado and Virginia Novello. Méndez Cross, Novello and Maldonado co-star as the movie’s title characters—sisters Maria, Sofia and Lucia—as adults. Camila Sahagún, Orianna Hernández and Mariela Corona have small roles in the film as, respectively, the childhood Maria, Sofia and Lucia,
The movie begins by showing a Mexican grandmother named Guadalupe (played by Laura Patalano) telling her three granddaughters (all sisters), who are all under the age of 8, the story of the traditional pilgrimage walk that she and others take through Mexico, especially if the travelers want a miracle. This trek, which has stops at several landmarks, is supposed to take place over six days and five nights. “Las Tres Sisters” is not a religious movie, but the story is about at least one of the main characters believing through religious faith that miracles can happen.
After this opening scene, the movie switches to Maria, Sofia and Lucia as adults, who are in their 30s and leading separate lives. They each have very different personalities. The three sisters all used to be very close to each other when they were younger. But something happened that damaged the relationship between the three sisters, who have been estranged from each other ever since.
Eldest sister Maria (played by Méndez Cross) is an open-minded homemaker who lives in Houston with her loving and devoted husband Harold Jacobs (played by Adam Mayfield), who is the type of spouse who leaves Post-It love notes around their home. Maria has two medical secrets. one that she keeps from Harold, and the other she keeps from her sister. These secrets inevitably get revealed.
Middle sister Sofia (played by Novello) is a sexually free-spirited bachelorette who lives in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Sofia also has alcoholism. She is first seen in the movie having sex with a male sex worker, who later argues with her about the payment that he’s expecting.
Youngest sister Lucia (played by Maldonado) is a prim and proper attorney who lives in Los Angeles. Lucia is a bachelorette who is the caretaker for her disabled mother Patti (played by Pilar Ixquic Mata), who uses a wheelchair. Lucia has started to feel resentment that she is the only family member who takes care of Patti, who lives with Lucia.
It should come as no surprise that personality opposites Sofia and Lucia have the most conflicts with each other. Maria often gets caught in the middle. Lucia and Sofia have had a major falling out (the details are eventually revealed in the movie), and these two estranged siblings haven’t seen or spoken to each other in years. Sofia is the only one of the three sisters who is fluent in Spanish.
Maria wants to go on this pilgrimage trek through Mexico with her sisters because Maria thinks she needs a miracle to help her with her medical issues. Maria tricks Lucia and Sofia into meeting up with her in Mexico, by not telling Lucia and Sofia in advance that their “enemy” sister will be there at this reunion. Many conversations and scenarios ensue that seem to be inspired by “Sex and the City.”
During this excursion, the sisters meet various people, including an introverted botanist named Kin (played by Cristo Fernández) and an extroverted rancher named Manuel Lopez (played by Gonzalo Garcia Vivanco), who both help the sisters in different ways when they get lost or need transportation. Kin, who is a widower, takes a romantic interest in Lucia. Manuel and Sofia have a lusty attraction to each other.
“Las Tres Sisters” has some predictability in how the plot unfolds, but the acting and movie’s direction are solidly entertaining. This is movie is about family issues, but some of the subject matter is not meant for underage children or people who get easily offended by graphic sex talk or semi-explicit sex scenes. The last 20 minutes of “Las Tres Sisters” have the most impact in the movie’s message about making the most out of life before it’s too late.
Myriad Pictures released “Las Tres Sisters” in select U.S. cinemas on February 21, 2025.