Caminhos da Vida

This film though not one of Tim Roth's best, is one that should be seen by those interested in his career. It is a pivotal film, one in which he transforms himself into an American gangster/hood/waster small bit anti-hero. The film takes us to the Bronx and the dialogue though it was written in the 1990's reminds one of the kind of a 1970's film in which the heroes look back to their childhood place. Remember where we played ball. Remember where that kid Bluey threw a brick down from the building.That kind of thing. Roth is a de Niro. I mean the hand in the jacket pocket, the swagger, the punchdrunk interjections, the hands and the eye movement. It is de Niro. Almost to the point of parody. I couldn't focus on the film because of these mannerisms, and yet I felt this was interesting because it showed the method of acting where the actor copies the actor who used the Stanislavsky method copying life. The film on the whole would have benefitted from being on stage --it would make a great play --but a film, no.

That one needs to be put on dvd and now it's sold out now I can't get it anymore. They need to let it be back in stock on eBay and Amazon. When they supposed to let it be available on Amazon or eBay to let it be back online? Besides I want it on a US DVD not on a different region country one. This is really important to all 20th century studios company to let it be back online.

This little-known movie boasts remarkable performances by an unusual ensemble. Tim Roth powerfully carries the film, and Alexis Arquette effectively conveys the sensitive, gentle personality beneath the ruins of Danny's drug addiction. The astonishing Danitra Vance, in the last of her few film appearances, burns a hole in the screen with her baleful glare -- you can't take your eyes off her. Kathleen Chalfant (a famous New York stage actress, almost unknown in the movies) is staggering in her one scene as the mother; it's been years since I saw the film and I can still hear her heart-wrenching reading of the line, "Tell him I'm sorry I couldn't see him." The brothers' time together takes on something of the quality of an odyssey over the course of the film. The movie's final confrontation, and in particular the last shot, with the camera pulling away from Danitra Vance until she seems to be running in place, are unforgettable. "Jumpin'" affected me very deeply in a way that is difficult to describe. Unbelievable that Jeff Stanzler never made another full-length movie.

A previous reviewer was right, this would make a great stage play. I enjoyed the film but there wasn't very much going on. Tom Roth was wonderful and makes the film worth watching, Alexis Arquette is new to me but I thought he gave a good performance overall. Any Tim Roth fans should definitely put this one on their list.

If you don't like Tim Roth (strange) I believe that this film doesn't have enough going for it to keep you interested.

Basic Plot: Two brothers, one an addict the other a screw-up, and his battle to save his brother.

Be prepared for a very very sad ending.

A poignant performance on an old story: surviving (with a little help from your brother)

This movie has to be viewed from the beginning with an acceptance that will vary with each viewer. Please ward off any preconceptions about the actors, styles, and the world in which it's enacted and a wonderful thing begins to happen. I picked up this movie on a discount laser-disk sale, having no idea what it was about. I could find no reviews. I didn't need any, as I soon found out. They might have kept me from making the choice I did. Some people will simply see the vulgarity. Some will analyze the acting. The ‘in your face' performances and dialog by Tim Roth and Alexis Arquette develops to the degree of reality that the one brother's love for his only brother transcends anything else that has to do with the movie. The score by Steve Postel complements this result. And the direction of Jeff Stanzler skillfully moves us to where we ache inside for the movie to end on a positive stage. The story is tragic and ends tragically. But for those of us who understand life, efforts and love aren't lost to those of us who survive no matter how something ends. This movie has it all. I give it six out of a possible five stars.