How can I begin to describe this wonderful and unsentimental film directed by Ramin Bahrani?
Let's begin with its two central characters: Alejandro and Isamar. Two Latino teens living in the slums of Jamaica, New York. Just simply trying to make it. Cooking food. Selling DVDs. Stealing auto parts for the run-by the mill chop-shops (for auto parts) around Jamaica Avenue. The same Jamaica Avenue that frightened me in the middle of the night when I was trying to hail a cab to take me back to Floral Park, Queens. It's a part of Queens or New York City for the matter that no one ever gets to see on film. Chop Shop really works--because of its gritty straightforwardness; of an acceptance and a bond between a brother and sister who through all odds, try to stay sane and love one another when times are desperate. There's no judgment. There are no words to describe their relationship, and that's what makes it such a devastating piece of art and social commentary, towards those who are often left behind. But try to look sometime.
No comments:
Post a Comment