Raising Victor Vargas

Started by Ghostboy, April 17, 2003, 11:50:52 PM

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Ghostboy

April 17, 2003, 11:50:52 PM
This movie is fantastic. It's about a poor hispanic kid in the lower east side of Manhattan and how his first real relationship affects his family. It's beautiful. I'm going to compare it to David Gordon Green's films, mainly because it was photographed by Tim Orr, but also because it has a stunningly talented cast of unknown kids in it, who developed the film with the writer/director Peter Sollett through rehearsals (personally, I prefer this to Green's 'All The Real Girls,' although they are only slightly similar stories). I think it opens either this Friday or next, in most markets.

sphinx

#1
April 18, 2003, 12:15:19 AM
i saw the trailer for it, and i was a little turned off from the film by the fact that the whole movie is based on the character of victor vargas, who i didn't particularly like.  with that word out, though, i'll have a look out for it

Ghostboy

#2
April 18, 2003, 12:25:40 AM
I saw the trailer too; it made the movie seem more like a hispanic sort of Rodger Dodger or something. Don't trust the ads.

dufresne

#3
April 30, 2003, 02:38:44 AM
this movie was highly recommended by my cousin.  the trailer looks fantastic.  does this mean i shouldn't trust the ads?

:wink:
There are shadows in life, baby.

DavTMcGowan

#4
May 01, 2003, 10:16:56 PM
I just saw this one tonight.  Solid.  If you have a free hour and a half, its worthwhile.

ono

#5
June 08, 2003, 12:58:52 AM
I saw it, and I wasn't impressed at all.  The film reminded me way too much of Kids for some reason (and that's never a good thing), and it was filled with caricatures instead of real people.  There were some funny, genuine moments sprinkled about here and there, but overall, the film is nothing to write home about.  sphinx is right in that the Victor Vargas character isn't that likable, and really all the others are two dimensional except for the grandmother, who is a caricature herself except for during sparse moments.  We're left wanting to know more about these people, instead of the plain two dimensions they're painted into.

godardian

#6
June 08, 2003, 01:16:15 AM
Quote from: GhostboyDon't trust the ads.

A design for life.
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

Ghostboy

#7
June 08, 2003, 01:58:09 AM
Quote from: OnomatopoeiaThe film reminded me way too much of Kids for some reason, and it was filled with caricatures instead of real people.  

That's funny, the reason I loved it was because I thought it was full of real people, rather than caricatures. I really connected with these kids...and I admired how the movie was so fine tuned in its attention to detail, and how it captured how people really react to situations like the ones they were in. If the characters were two dimensional, I think Victor would never have tried to patch things up with his grandmother, and the movie would have ended in some lame tragedy. Have you seen the movie Hurricane Streets? It wasn't a bad film, but it's what I was afraid this movie would become. Also, how did it remind you of Kids? Other than the handheld in NY look that it had?

Godardian, I don't even follow my own words. Trailers get me way too excited about certain movies.

godardian

#8
June 08, 2003, 02:00:22 AM
Quote from: Ghostboy

Godardian, I don't even follow my own words. Trailers get me way too excited about certain movies.

I can relate. As a general rule, though: "Don't trust the ads."
""Money doesn't come into it. It never has. I do what I do because it's all that I am." - Morrissey

"Lacan stressed more and more in his work the power and organizing principle of the symbolic, understood as the networks, social, cultural, and linguistic, into which a child is born. These precede the birth of a child, which is why Lacan can say that language is there from before the actual moment of birth. It is there in the social structures which are at play in the family and, of course, in the ideals, goals, and histories of the parents. This world of language can hardly be grasped by the newborn and yet it will act on the whole of the child's existence."

Stay informed on protecting your freedom of speech and civil rights.

pete

#9
July 08, 2003, 08:15:17 PM
this film is like a lower east side version of All the Real Girls.  some parts are a little too conventionally "indie", like when victor's sidekick is about to get it on with judy's sidekick, it felt very kevin smith right there.  but I think the film has a heart and charm and it's so sincere about things, I started feeling like an asshole for being too cynical towards it.
"Tragedy is a close-up; comedy, a long shot."
- Buster Keaton

Weak2ndAct

#10
November 14, 2003, 05:33:16 PM
Holy crap!  I just caught this on dvd last night and have to say that this was simply amazing.  Easily one of the best movies of the year.  Where the hell did all of these (non)actors come from?  Especially the grandmother... she was so perfect.

Highly, highly recommend it.  It's definitely a David Gordon Green companion like Ghostboy said.  I really need to see All The Real Girls again.

Weird. Oh

#11
December 05, 2003, 03:14:29 AM
I saw this film a few months ago and I thought it was very well acted. The cast was virtually unknown (the only one I recognized was Judy's sidekick, and she was  from the horrid Double Whammy).
The more arguments you win, the fewer friends you will have.

aclockworkjj

#12
December 05, 2003, 03:22:24 AM
Quote from: Weirdo1769movieMikeDouble Whammy.
aww...that movie had it's moments.  Buscemi was a nut...Leary was the loser cop.  Luis Guzman!!!  The Guz rocks in this...it's stupid, kinda fun.

Finn

#13
December 05, 2003, 09:11:59 AM
Yeah, this is a wonderful movie. I saw it in New York in a small theatre but everyone seemed to enjoy it. It's out on DVD now so I hope more people will check it out.
Typical US Mother: "Remember what the MPAA says; Horrific, Deplorable violence is okay, as long as people don't say any naughty words."
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