Manito

This is the story of two brothers in a Latino area of a big city. The older brother has just been released from prison and is determined not to let his younger brother, Manny (the title is an affectionate nickname), follow the same path. Manny has excelled in school and is graduating from high school, but he is not home free yet.

The film takes place over 48 hours, and was filmed in 25 days in a gritty, documentary style. The actors were mostly new to film, which probably added to the realism. It's the performances that make this film, which won a Special Jury Prize for ensemble acting at Sundance. As is often the case, it's not an easy film to watch, but it's worth it. Seen at Cinequest (the San Jose, CA film festival) on 2/24/2002.

this film is an exceptionally strong story about how difficult it is to transcend the forces of the past, your own, your neighborhood's and your family's. the gritty urban drama uses a handheld camera to create a reality that is never broken or compromised.

the exuberance of this Uptown Manhattan Latino clan is beautifully rendered as they attend the star of the family, Manny's graduation. his older brother, Junior, throws a great party and we sense that this family is on the road to recovering from the dark shadow cast by their former drug dealing father, now estranged.

but Manny's bright future is jeopardized by a tragic incident that forces Junior to turn to the one person he despises above all. Franky G's turn as Junior Moreno, a live wire who negotiates all that life dishes him with charm, brute force, or simple perseverance is amazing.

the climax is stunning and all i can say is this is like Shakespeare in Spanish Harlem. amazing.

a multiple festival award winner: best film at south by southwest, special jury at Sundance, special jury at Miami, this film will grab you on the first frame and hold you until the final subway departs.

A combination of unwieldy social consciousness ,melodrama, and juvenile story-telling and cinematic sensibilities, Manito is a reminder that great, simple filmmaking is NOT the result of film-school regurgitation. Any time a film comes out that deals with this same subject matter with relatively the same handling, conclusions, and a slightly different script, it is regarded as high art and hailed by critics. Sorry, folks, it's been done before, and you're not fooling me. While I appreciate the fact that Manito didn't try to come up with some false, hokey solution to the most complex of life's problems (Good Will Hunting), it fails to give any more depth to the story. Some of the acting was good, some of the writing was excellent, but it's a familiar chord progression in this sad, sad song. For gritty hyperrealism, watch Mean Streets.

"Manito" is an independent film in every sense of the term. From the gritty lightning down to the jumpy out of focus shorts, "Manito" envelops neorealism. At a running time of not much more than an hour, the small investment required is well worth ones time. The payoff however is disappointing considering what could have been. While watching "Manito" I found myself wondering if the flow of the film was done for artistic or budgetary reasons. I cannot give credit to a film for artistic achievement when in truth it was all that it could afford. This is not to suggest that "Manito" is low budget (even though it is), in contrast, the credit instead must be given to how engrossing of a story can be created by anybody with enough ambition to do so.

In reality "Manito" isn't a feature film, it's what I consider to be a short. Technically it gets lumped in with the feature films, but when there are a number of television shows that match your running time it all becomes arbitrary. The premise behind "Manito" is that the older brother 'Junior' is trying to rebuild his life after getting out of prison while his younger brother 'Manny' is doing a good job of preventing himself from following his older siblings footsteps. The film does a good job of bringing the audience into the story and making us care about the characters, almost to a fault. I ended up caring so much about these characters that when the film was over I felt cheated that there wasn't more closure. Sure artistic license will defend the choices made, but I feel that much more was possible if another 10- 15 minutes of material was written.

My complaints are actually quite minute when it comes down to overall enjoyment. The dialog while far from creative is grounded and delivered with great emotion that makes me care as much as they do. 'Junior' is the star of the film and carries much of the weight. The viewer can't help but feel like he's really doing everything he can to make right on his life despite still being human and showcasing flaws that many of us without records posses.

In the end, "Manito" is another example of how powerful nature is in our development. No matter what our plan may be for our life. No matter how well we execute our plan. Our environment is likely to win-out in the end. Fortunate people in destructive environments who allow themselves to fall victim to circumstance are a cautionary tale for the rest of us to never take our good-fortune for granted.

Read this and other reviews at my website: CD1083.com

The beauty of the movie lies in it's grittiness. It's a small intimate portrait that subscribes to the idea that there are stories every where that's worth being told and we as audience members have the responsibility to appreciate that. Manito isn't wholly original, nor is it groundbreaking, but it is a story, and a strong story at that which provides a certain truth that has been a long absent from the regular Hollywood fare. Take the time to watch this film. I guarantee you won't be dissapointed.