Gordon McAlpin Filmed largely on location in Chicago and helmed by Columbia College graduates Michael Ojeda and Joel Goodman, Lana's Rain is supposedly about two refugees from the Bosnia war moving to Chicago and trying to make their way in this strange new world. Instead, it is simply every late-night cable movie you have seen in your whole life chucked into a blender, drank, and explosively shat down your throat. Its sole novelty is the replacement of faux-hick accents (the norm when Hollywood films shitstorms like this) with broken English with eastern European accents and Croatian (with English subtitles).Oksana Orlenko, in the title role, does a decent job in either language, but burdened by a simply awful script and generally not-very-good co-stars, I'm not certain how much I'm just trying to find one redeeming facet of this production in order to justify the disappearance of $6 from my wallet and 107 minutes from my life. If there is one, it certainly is not the direction, the cinematography, the script, the editing, or the lame, heavy-handed (but digitally mastered!) score. God knows it's definitely not the script.… Lana's Rain runs through so many laugh-out-loud bad movie clichés that it's hard to believe it was ever made. Speech about how America is where dreams come true? Check. Inept, slow-motion "action" scenes? Check. Shoehorned-in romantic subplot that serves no purpose other than providing the obligatory sex scene? Check. Flashback images at the end to remind you of everything that you already saw in the previous hour and a half? Check. Completely unnecessary "happily ever after" final scene? Check.No bearing on reality whatsoever? Check.

Roland E. Zwick Lana and Darko are a brother and sister who escape war torn Bosnia by hiding in a metal storage container on a cargo ship headed for the United States. Lana is a sweet, innocent young woman who has witnessed a great deal of personal tragedy in her life, while Darko is a well known mobster who is basically running for his life from forces who are out to get him. After an arduous trip across the Atlantic, the two settle down in Chicago to start a new life in America. When they fall on hard times, Darko decides to pimp his sister out for money while his dark past begins slowly but surely to catch up with him.Although it aspires to be a gritty film about real people struggling to survive in a harsh environment, "Lana's Rain" comes across as an overwrought melodrama, poorly acted and even more poorly directed. The story is so filled with theatrical flourishes that little of what we see actually rings true. Just a minor case in point: towards the beginning of the film, as the unloaded crate in which they are hiding is speeding its way from the east coast to Chicago, Lana and Darko look through a hole in the side, and lo and behold what do they happen to see passing by but the capitol building in Washington D.C.! I'm surprised director Michael S. Ojeda was able to resist throwing in shots of the Statue of Liberty, Mount Rushmore and the Grand Canyon as well. Unfortunately, this relatively insignificant gaffe becomes symptomatic of the film as a whole which is all too often willing to sacrifice plausibility for the sake of dramatic effect."Lana's Rain" is a serious missed opportunity, for what could have been a meaningful and sensitive film on an important subject turns into a series of hokey dime-store novel vignettes instead.

ButtonPictures This film has everything you could ask for in an indie and more! Although this picture is bookended by a commercialized style, in no way does it undermine the heart of the story. The character of Lana, portrayed by newcomer Oksana Orlenko, goes through an amazing arc of ordeals. Her brother, portrayed by Nickolai Stoilov, does not have as wide an arc, but does provide the emotional conflicts and resistance with our female protagonist. The production value is high for the low cost. I heard that the film was made for under $300,000 which proves that producer Joel Goodman and director Michael Ojeda makes every shot for dollar count. I look forward in seeing the stars rise to a brighter spotlight soon. The film is dark and puts the beautiful locales of Chicago in a new light. Or, in this case, a new shadow.

the2000jon This movie was not bad .. It fulfilled the requirements for a film marking a foreign lady - main charachter (Lana) incompetent in her efforts to change in America at first. Her sustained psychological traumas and tribulations are just the icing on the cake before she passes the test to mark the grade of survival to the fittest in America - Chicago, Illinois to be specific.. Good Feature. I'd give this a 7.5 on a scale. Video rental is reccomended, and dont rush out unless you're a chicago native and want to glance at interstates , congestions and license plates unique to modern ChicagoJonathan