Movie No. 110 (2013): CHOP SHOP
Chop Shop (2007)
Director: Ramin Bahrani
Cast: Alejandro Polanco, Isamar Gonzales
The plot is simple: An adolescent orphan, a boy of Hispanic origin, lives with his sister in a chop shop, an auto-body repair shop in the outskirts of Brooklyn, New York. His dream is simple: to earn enough money to buy an old van from another junk shop so he and his sister can start a burger business of their own.
Director: Ramin Bahrani
Cast: Alejandro Polanco, Isamar Gonzales
The plot is simple: An adolescent orphan, a boy of Hispanic origin, lives with his sister in a chop shop, an auto-body repair shop in the outskirts of Brooklyn, New York. His dream is simple: to earn enough money to buy an old van from another junk shop so he and his sister can start a burger business of their own.
If this film were made in the '40s, some would have called it neorealism. I agree. Yes, the movie cast non-actors and the story is very apt for a neorealist cinema. During the final act of the movie, I was reminded of Bicycle Thieves (the greatest film that came out of the neorealism movement and one of the greatest films ever made, in my opinion). And then I realize that Bicycle Thieves and Chop Shop share the same message: Even the smallest of dreams can get shattered.
Rating: 4.0/4.0
Date seen: May 4, 2013
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