Cocaína: A Rota da Morte

Coca leaves making their way from Peru to Downtown Los Angeles. Told in a series of vignettes that are nothing less than startling. The movie ended and I sat in silence staring at the screen. I had been taken for a cinematic ride without any warning. There is something classic about the way the film is shot but there is also something subversive, revolutionary about the ties that link the emotional punches between the different segments. Little Carlito's sounds are carried trough the film, at least, I felt so. Lhamard Tate is breathtaking and he is the one in charge to carry the ball for the last and dangerous stretch. The faces of each one of the characters are as clear in my mind as if I had met them personally. Unfortunately "Seeds Of Tragedy" is not available in DVD.

To find something of this quality on a regular TV night is truly rare. I couldn't think of anything else for days. The exquisite care that Martin Donovan (director - Apartment Zero) and Alex Lasker (writer) show for their characters, is contagious and compelling. The face of little Carlitos haunts you throughout the film. It is very odd that a film like this one is not in a list of classics, in fact, I don't know anybody who's seen it. I can't find it on video, it's never part of any "must see" list. The film changes as the "substance" makes its way from Peru into the American inner cities leading towards its inexorable ending. The parade of characters is a gallery of unexpected discoveries, visual and emotional. SUPERB.

What an amazing, unexpected treat. Lorenz Tate, from Dead Presidents fame seals the journey this glorious film encourages us to undertake. My only points of reference were the afore mentioned Lorenz Tate, a truly soulful actor and Martin Donovan, a mysterious and classically unconventional director, I wasn't at all prepared by the jolting surprises, visual and emotional the film had in store for me. It changes style every time that the "seed of tragedy" changes hands. The opening is like a fairy tale, mystic, beautiful, strange, with a performance by Lucino Hernandez that defies description. The film moves through South America with a wink to the early Luis Bunuel. The arrival to Texas is pure Sam Peckinpah, even the score reminds us of "The Getaway" as the journey continues, glimpses of Sam Fuller, Douglas Sirk and Scorsese take us to the emotional wallop of the end, courtesy of another Tate, Lhamar, with another moving, powerful performance. I was and still am kind of numb. I loved the poetry and the daringness. I want to see it again, but the film is not listed anywhere. Did I imagine the whole thing? I hope not and I hope you all can see it too. It doesn't look or feel like anything you've ever seen before, at least not in one single film.