A Mexican teenager comes to America in search of his missing sister in this drama. Sixteen-year-old Emilio (Walter Perez) lives with his family in a small village in the Mexican countryside. After his younger sister Maria goes missing, Emilio is told by the police that she may have been kidnapped by Manuel, a man who owns a diner in Los Angeles and has been linked to smuggling illegal workers into California. With nothing more than a snapshot of Manuel, Emilio hops a bus and makes his way to California in hopes of finding Manuel and bringing his sister home. Emilio's bravado outstrips his knowledge of life in the United States, and as he wanders from restaurant to restaurant hoping to find Manuel, he's ripped off by con artists, frustrated by government agents, picked up by a gay man who mistakes him for a hustler and is befriended by street people who recognize that Emilio is in over his head. Emilio was the first directorial project from Kim Jorgensen, who has worked in the film business for decades as a producer and distributor.
~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide