Rampage

I was in this film and til this day I have never seen the documentary I was one of the young guys in the documentary We rode ride the streets of Miami and went to Different hoods it was a moment to remember I've searched for it on YouTube and other places also. I really want to see the dvd I just don't know where to find it I'm trying to download it now on this app but I'm not having any success what so ever I really hope that I find a way to see the film it's been years sense I've even seen George about 17 years to be exact this was filmed in 2008 I believe I was only 24 ruffly I'm 40 now ....

I picked up a copy of Rampage at my local DVD store because I thought it was a movie, not a documentary. The idea of a movie about rappers coming back from the Iraq war and seeing parallels with their own war-torn suburbs was interesting.

As soon as it started I saw it was in fact a documentary, and I got a sinking feeling that I had been duped. I re-checked the DVD case and in tiny lettering at the bottom of the back cover there it was "documentary".

I continued watching anyway, and pretty soon I was enthralled. The documentary was bizarre for a few reasons. First off I wasn't expecting a documentary about US rappers to be written by an Australian, nor was I expecting to see anything new in a film about gang violence in the United States.

The documentary is set mostly in a poor mainly African American suburb in Miami. I had no idea Miami was as racially divided as it apparently is.

Documentary maker George Gittoes follows a US soldier he met while filming footage in the Iraq war. The soldier had told Gittoes his hometown was just as dangerous as Iraq, so the Australian journalist wanted to find out for himself.

It seems the soldier wasn't lying, and we see first hand how people in his suburb live, and how they cling to rapping as their one chance to get the hell out of there, especially one rather cute, troubled 14-year-old.

Rampage (2006)

George Gittoes is a well-known Australian painter and filmmaker. A lot of his painting is related to war and so to are his films. Rampage started when the director was in Iraq Making the documentary Soundtrack To War (2005). He met Elliot Lovett, a young African American soldier who was a rap artist. Elliot was one of an number of people focused on in Soundtrack To War (2005) but the twenty something rapper told Gittoes that Miami is "more dangerous than the streets of Baghdad".

In Rampage (2006), George Gittoes is introduced to Elliot's hometown of Brown Sub in Miami and meets all the family and friends who live in the eye of the storm. Elliot has two younger brothers Marcus and Denzell. Almost everyone creates hip-hop in this documentary, not recorded in a studio but off the cuff when hanging out together. Some of this music would be written and much of it "freestyle" or improvised. It is simply a part of their lives.

The film starts quite joyously. The first third simply follows the young people hanging out and having fun. This part of the film really captures a wonderful spirit in the young people of this film. Gittoes follows this group while standing out as an older, white outsider with a camera but he does his best to fit in. Gittoes might be from another world to these African American youth but he is allowed inside to capture its essence. The director shows little pretension and I believe this is why the film successfully portrays the characters and situation. He is just strait up about what he wants to do which is make the documentary.

During the film, tragedy strikes. Somebody is shot and this changes everything. I will not add any further to this and will just let you watch the film.

Denzell is the younger brother and a very promising hip-hop artist. He is 14 years old and is rapping about guns and death like older rappers 50 cent and Snoop Dog. He journeys to all the top record companies with his stories and rhymes. His talent is undeniable but his graphic subject matter and course language is questioned because of his youth. In the offices of some of the biggest hip-hop producers, Denzell is described as gifted and the future of rap. Despite all his violent lyrics based on where he comes from it becomes a challenge to get signed by the record labels.

What the documentary achieves is a raw look at a part of America we usually only see on COPS or in a Hollywood version. There is obvious negativity in these ganglands but Rampage shows us the positive side, which is a fertile place of creativity and culture. Rap music proves to be enmeshed in the lives of these young people. Rampage shows us where this music comes from. For a white Australian like my friends and me it is fascinating and valuable to see the real thing because our musical culture is now heavily influenced by the commercial rap, R&B genres.

Structurally the film is not perfect. The film gets to a point where it is unable to go anywhere further. This is partly due to the realistic and honest style refusing to create an artificial peek or arc. Perhaps the film peeks earlier than one would like but the result is still a very raw entertaining experience. This is at times a wonderful window into a family that we usually only see a one sided view of. It is also access to the world of Brown Sub with gold teeth, guns, shotgun scars and the biggest wheels I have ever seen on a car! The music is delivered with a strong attitude. If you like music see this film. If you like 8 Mile or films about hip-hop you should see the real thing. I compare this film to the excellent rap doco Freestyle (2000), which is a detailed overview of the art of freestyling. Rampage (2006) is not an overview having a clear focus on a particular family of rap artists and this is the films strength.

www.rampagethemovie.com