Film Review Fridays--The Other America (2004)
Thanks to hulu.com, I stumbled upon another decent indie film, The Other America. Writer-director, Eugene Martin, examines the lives of three Philadelphia teens, all in high school in his fifth feature film. Shooting in 32 days, spanning over a four-month period, Martin used a trio of nonprofessional actors he discovered during a meticulous research and interview process. Tobias Segal (Ari), Irene Longshore (Cassie) and Vicky Wang (Jackie) are the three main characters.
All three teens are dealing with some type of issue; their struggle to survive and be understood or should I say, being misunderstood, is their common bond. Ari, the main character, is a homeless teen that has a hidden life as a graffiti artist with a well-known tag; after fleeing his abusive father, Ari and his mother have been staying in public housing shelters. He is a typical adolescent that struggles with identity issues, but more importantly, keeping his living situation hidden, by lying, is really weighing on him; both manifest themselves via his graffiti artist alter ego, “Shelter Boy.” Ari’s friends, Cassie and Jackie, are in less than fortunate situations also; Cassie’s mother passed away, leaving her the sole provider for the household and Jackie just moved to the area with skeletons too.
As I watched the beginning of this film, I debated turning it off and finding another film to watch, but the more I watched, I got drawn in. Yea, it’s an indie flick, no Hollywood tricks or treats, it’s slightly gritty and bare bone, which makes it more alive in my opinion. I could say that the plot was typical, which it is, but The Other America is a film that should be taken at face value. The way Martin presents the plot; it’s a real eye-opener into the lives of some teens, what they go through, their hidden struggles, and how they cope. The other element that stood out for me was the resiliency of the human spirit and the hunger to reach one’s hopes and dreams. My only real gripe is about the music. I just wasn’t a fan of most of it.
Check out the trailer. If you’re so inclined, watch it now, below.
GRADE: B-
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4 comments:
Kiana....the movie sounds good but the movie clip is not working outside USA...HEY ,PLZ EXPLAIN WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY indie movie?
just wrote down the name for my next movie streaming night. Great review!
heu Kavita, an indie movie is a movie not developped by the big movie brands like Disney or Paramount (hollywood big movies) and most of the time has a low budget.
thanks for visiting.
@kavita, yea, it is a pretty good film. i've found the film on another site. hopefully this will play outside of the US.
www.joost.com/0359ti5/t/The-Other-America
let me know if it works. also, an indie film is exactly what @lazyking wrote in his comments. it's bare bones, sometimes done with handheld camcorders. they are often shown at film festivals, where the creators can reach large audiences. they often use amateur actors & actresses.
@lazyking, thanks! what other films do you have on your movie streaming list?
Thankyou Kiana and LZ....
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