Chop Shop

[Gold Trumpet]

CHOP SHOP

CHOP SHOP (2007), Bahrani's second feature film, was hailed by Roger Ebert as "a masterpiece" and was on his top films of 2008. On countless other top ten films of 2008 lists, Chop Shop was also recently nominated for a Gotham Award and two Independent Spirit Awards, including best director. In 2008, Bahrani won the Acura "Someone to Watch" Independent Spirit Award.


Chop Shop is certainly an interesting film. Set in Brooklyn, it shows the under dwellings of the city where a brother and sister are able to make a living off barely anything but their instincts and self sufficient resources. The level of poverty in the film reflects a Dardenne style of realism, but Ramin Bahrani doesn't see the need for handheld camerawork to exhibit the stark realities. He sticks to shots static but never lets the film get too far away from the characters. Only a few shots actually highlight the New York around the characters. For most of the film the rust and decay of the buildings the characters live by is all that the audiences get to see. The claustrophobic filmmaking creates a tough film reality.

Chop Shop has a very simple story. The plot is about two youths, forced to live poverty, and how one has to challenge their morals to make a living. The simple melodrama of the story paints it into an Italian Neo-Realism style, but the film has a level of realism in the storytelling where no tidy conclusions are found in the end. A downtrodden existence for these characters will continue on after the film. The way Bahrani makes the film inhabit the story is a reminder of better European filmmakers like the Dardenne brothers. The simple filmmaking pattern of just documenting the actions keeps the film looking and feeling American, but the film begs to compared to the great Dardenne brothers.

That final sentence is the problem for all filmmakers of this style. For me, the Dardennes are far and beyond all other filmmakers that getting out their shadow is a tough business. Lodge Kerrigan advanced his style to imitate the Dardennes with Keane, but it was an exceptional film with how it bridged a story of close proximity to such a good psychological analysis. Ramin Bahrani doesn't have the skills of either filmmakers. Only a few times in the film did I see exceptional shots that really underscored the characters in their world, but I'm still happy the film is getting some notice with critics. The film makes enough nice decisions to be good, but I don't think it's great. Still, I hope more people show some attention to it.

[Pozer]

it looks pretty great.

[Gold Trumpet]

I liked Chop Shop and consider its director, Ramin Bahrani, one of the directors out there to watch. His homegrown approach to storytelling begs for comparison to David Gordon Green so it will be interesting to see how Bahrani develops where I think Green has dissapointed since his debut.

That being said, Roger Ebert may be a little anxious with already calling Chop Shop a great film. Here is its review in his Great Film series: http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090422/REVIEWS08/904229991

[pete]

david gordon green has very little interest in realism or social realism - his films take place in rural towns facing economic realities, but the realities aren't really the conflict - he uses them as backdrops for fairly universal stories - kids coming of age, romance, adventures, domestic violence...etc. - without too much concern for social relevance.  Bahrani seems to represent Americans catching up with the movement in Europe (like last year's Ballast), though Americans, with Spike Lee as the trailblazer, have always traditionally stylized their social realist topics with touches of magical realism, comedy, or subtle hints of genre flashes - from movies like  Raising Victor Vargas and Half Nelson or even The Wire.  Or they get really really over the top like Crash or Crossing Over.
I still don't think that highly of the Dardennes though.