My choice this week was a film created by first time writer/director Dito Montiel, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints. The film was a coming of age drama based on Dito's life growing up in Astoria in the 1980's. While the characters became a blend of many of Dito's real life friends in his neighborhood the story of what happens here was a real piece of teen angst and frustration that occurs from generation gaps between parents and kids. This production had many key componets that coaleced and made for a riveting movie. The movie was co produced by Sting and his wife Trudie Styler and stars Robert Downey Jr., Diane West, Chaz Palminteri, Shia LaBeouf and Channing Tatum. It was shot on location in Astoria by director of photography Eric Gautier (Motorcycle Diaries, Into The Wild) who did an amazing job keeping the picture gritty and full of emotion. Dito Montiel did what the best writers and directors tell aspiring talent to do, "write what you know". He battled pieces of his own life through the mediums of screenplay and film with emotional poetry and grace that left festival audiences choked up around the globe. Dito won the directors award and Jury prize at Sundance in 2006. I suggest you rent this film to see why I have added it to the great selections of "art imitating life".
No comments:
Post a Comment