A 12 year old boy, living on his own, works in an auto repair place, in the midst of the surreal "iron triangle" of low rent car repair shops in Queens, NYC.
His 16 year old sister joins him, and they dream of bigger things, while she works part time as a hooker, and he works at the shop, runs scams, and steals.
It all feels very real, the sense of detail of a strange world is terrific, and yet there is somehow a lack of an emotional punch, and the film feels a tiny bit disconnected.
Maybe in part because the young lead is not all that great. I felt aware he was saying written lines and following directions. And in turn that kept me from getting as emotionally invested as I did with, say, "Pixote".
Always interesting, it just never transcended for me. Many critics loved this, so I'm willing to take a second look, but I was even more impressed by the preceding Ramin Bahrani film "Man Push Cart", and his following "Goodbye Solo".
His 16 year old sister joins him, and they dream of bigger things, while she works part time as a hooker, and he works at the shop, runs scams, and steals.
It all feels very real, the sense of detail of a strange world is terrific, and yet there is somehow a lack of an emotional punch, and the film feels a tiny bit disconnected.
Maybe in part because the young lead is not all that great. I felt aware he was saying written lines and following directions. And in turn that kept me from getting as emotionally invested as I did with, say, "Pixote".
Always interesting, it just never transcended for me. Many critics loved this, so I'm willing to take a second look, but I was even more impressed by the preceding Ramin Bahrani film "Man Push Cart", and his following "Goodbye Solo".