By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Peter Sollett
Starring: Altagracia Guzman | Judy Marte | Melonie Diaz | Victor Rasuk
Country: united_states
Year: 2003
Running time: 88
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0316188
Michael says: “So where was everyone this evening when they should have been catching this remarkable little film? RAISING VICTOR VARGAS is a sweet, and realistic tale of adolescent relationships, a little coming-of-age, and a strong family tale set in a gritty, urban neighborhood. First-time writer/director Peter Sollett has put together a moving and funny tale that avoids the drugs, violence and cardboard stereotypes so prevalent in most ‘tales of the ‘hood.’
“Victor is a ladies man. He’s got his smooth routine down. But when he tries to impress the beautiful and seemingly streetwise Judy, he is shot down. At home, Victor must cope with an annoying younger sister and brother. Their caregiver and grandmother is having trouble dealing with the onslaught of teen years in all three of her charges, and blames Victor for the teenaged woes of the other two.
“Through his relationships with these two women, his grandmother, and Judy, Victor slowly and realistically moves from neighborhood, childish lothario, to a sensitive young man, with a growing feeling of responsibility to his family, and to the people he cares about.
“Sollett has coaxed remarkable performances from his two leads, Victor Rasuk and Judy Marte, neither of whom have done much previous acting. Altagracia Guzman’s Grandma is a delight as well. Despite the simple story, the performances these kids deliber are somewhat complex and gently nuanced. Sollett’s original screenplay, which was developed at Sundance Institute’s Screenplay Lab, was scrapped when it came time to actually make the film. Instead, the director fashioned his film out of the broad life experiences of his two leading actors.
“Cinematographer Tim Orr (GEORGE WASHINGTON, ALL THE REAL GIRLS) eschews the golden, scenic splendor he mined to skillfully in David Gordon Green’s two films to create a more gritty, honest story with touches of that young love whimsy, to great effect. This one’s a keeper, and reminiscent of both GEORGE WASHINGTON and ALL THE REAL GIRLS, as well as the sublime OUR SONG.” 4 1/2 cats
Esme says: “I just watched this the other night–if you haven’t see it, check it out! I know, I know, I love everything, but I really thought this was an awesome movie. If you don’t already know, Victor is a Dominican teen hunk whose reputation is put on the line when word gets out he’s romancing a fat girl. To regain his status, he goes after the neighborhood beauty. What he learns, what she learns and what his feisty grandmother learns, is a lot. Great cast including Victor, his brother and sister, grandmother, the object of Victor’s affection, and her little brother with his own crush going on. I also liked that it was set in a poor neighborhood, in the summer, and that the director didn’t milk those facts for sympathy. It was about growing up, no matter where you are.”
Ivy says: “I just saw RAISING VICTOR VARGAS this evening and am in agreement with Michaels comments.OUR SONG ran through my head many times during the film, and although I still think the latter is the better film, VARGAS is still a touching, simple story about a small group of people in a very large city.
“I loved that you dont see any other parts of NYC except from the rooftops, and the action of the film is also distant from the normal NYC hustle and bustle.
“Good stuff…”
Laura says: “Tyro feature writer/director Peter Sollett has done the seemingly impossible by introducing Victor as a preening sexual predator and leaving him as an honorable innocent. This sweet film is like Larry Clark’s KIDS if they’d all had fiercely loving, religious grandmothers from the Dominican Republic to keep them on the straight and narrow.
“Victor’s discovered getting easy sex when his friend Harold (Kevin Rivera) calls him from the street and Vicki IDs the apartment window his head pops from. A frantic Victor attempts to stop his sister’s gossip by flinging the family phone out the window. After taping it back together, Grandma puts it under lock and key to be used only for emergencies, which, she informs her family, can only occur when she’s around to unlock it. Grandma is already perturbed that preteen Vicki is being called upon by Carlos, but when she catches her angel, Victor’s younger, lookalike brother Nino (Silvestre Rasuk), masturbating in the bathroom, Victor is blamed for the downfall of the family.
“Victor’s Grandma isn’t the only person with a hand in raising him. Judy seems like a tough chick, warding off the lewd advances of every teenage male she passes. She shares an anti-man pact with her admiring best friend Melonie (Melonie Diaz), but Melonie’s secretly begun to see Victor’s buddy Harold who sees beyond her geeky glasses. When Victor is formally introduced by Carlos, Judy relents to his old-fashioned courtship, but only to grant him arms-length status as her ‘new man.’ Victor’s combined efforts to redeem himself in the eyes of Grandma and get closer to Judy combust at a family dinner with startlingly fresh results.
“Sollett gets astonishing performances from newcomers Victor Rasuk and Judy Marte. Rasuk takes Victor from a lascivious lip-licker to a caring kid via bouts of teenage confusion. Marte gradually strips away a tough veneer to reveal a tentatively trusting center. Rasuk’s brother Silvestre is a natural as shy Nino. Krystal Rodriguez has a sullen, lumpish quality as Vicki, but her performance needed stronger direction. Altagracia Guzman, also clearly no seasoned actress, gets by on good will due to the hilarious situations and dialogue Sollett gives Grandma. Diaz and Rivera inhabit their subplot with easy charm and Vasquez is poignant in his pursuit of the uninterested Vicki.
“RAISING VICTOR VARGAS was shot by cinematographer Tim Orr (GEORGE WASHINGTON) who dispenses with the pretty images he’s delivered for director David Gordon Green and serves up a grittier, urban look here. The hand held camera work can sometimes call attention to itself (a complicated zoom from one end of a swimming pool through two characters’ bent heads at the opposite end isn’t achieved smoothly), but is overall fitting for the film. Sollett’s writing is strong, achieving his goal of innocence regained by the purity of first love and the hilariously misguided efforts of a well-meaning, immigrant grandmother.
RAISING VICTOR VARGAS is sweet affirmation of the positive effects the love of a good woman (or two) can have on a needy man. ” 3 1/2 cats