This is one of the better films I've seen about drug addiction, at least from the POV of the confirmed addict. It sadly doesn't show what makes one get into it the first place (if everyone who smoked pot became heroin users, as this film professes, there would be tens of millions of heroin users in this country). In fact, we see an intelligent, sane guy suddenly shoot up one day with his friend, a heroin addict. His friend never pressured him, and the guy could clearly see how messed up it makes one, so why would a smart guy do that? Stuff like that drives me crazy. Still, the acting, all by real-life former junkies, is pitch perfect, and it's refreshing to see a film from that era from the POV of Latin Americans. There's actually some fun stuff in this too, like the planning of a robbery of a jewelry store. In fact, the robbery sequences and the narration make me wonder if Gus Van Sant didn't take a few tips from this film when making 'Drugstore Cowboy'.
This film was released on DVD on the 'Something Weird' label, but despite the blatant 'I found Jesus' ending (which I actually found affirming despite how squeamish I usually get from religious message movies) it isn't camp or 'bad'. In fact, I'd hold it up there with the other good anti-drug movies from that era like 'A Hatful of Rain' and 'Sweet Love Bitter'.
This film was released on DVD on the 'Something Weird' label, but despite the blatant 'I found Jesus' ending (which I actually found affirming despite how squeamish I usually get from religious message movies) it isn't camp or 'bad'. In fact, I'd hold it up there with the other good anti-drug movies from that era like 'A Hatful of Rain' and 'Sweet Love Bitter'.
