andrescaicedo

I just finished watching the movie in the Sundance channel. I also just finished reading all the comments about this movie posted in this forum. There are a couple of facts that are "polemic" about this movie:

Yes, this movie was shot in HD video and it takes a little to get used to, but once I started getting into the movie, I completely forgot about the format in which it was shot. If you get into the story, the format doesn't matter, if you don't, well... even if it was shot in 70mm it won't help you appreciate it. Yes, Colombia, and especially Medellin are as violent as presented in this movie. The Colombian viewers who say "it's not THAT bad" are just in denial about how messed up things are in Locombia. Sure not everywhere in Colombia things are this violent, but for the 70%+ Colombians who live in poverty, this is day to day reality. Sorry if the movie didn't portray the comfortable lifestyle that some Colombians enjoy. You guys will have to wait until someone makes a movie about "la zona rosa" or your favorite mall in Colombia. No, this movie is not a "gay film". The story does include the main character's love life, and he happens to be gay, but this movie is not "Long Time Companion" or "Bird Cage". In short, if you can get beyond the violence or the gay relationships (if either one of those two things bother you), the movie is very good. It won't inspire any middle of the road feelings. It is powerful, violent and tender all wrapped in one. I recommend it.

If you get offended easily I don't recommend this movie. If you like your movies with happy endings, you shouldn't watch this film. In the tradition of "Pixote" and "Kids", "La vendedora de Rosas" shows the reality and (hallucinations) of children, who grow up in the street, survive in the street and die in the streets. It features an array of indigent pre-pubescent kids doing an insane amount of drugs, prostituting themselves and living with/killing each other. The movie features no real actors. All the kids are playing themselves. Today, Colombian media reported that one of the actresses featured in the movie was found dead. She is the second actor who has died since the movie was released. I like the movie because it presents reality as is. It doesn't pretend to give us solutions or even explain why those kids have live the way they do. It's unflinching and more real than anything committed to film before or since.