I remember finding Ramin Bahrani's first film, Man Push Cart, a fairly good debut, but one that lacked any real depth. He hasn't grown much in his sophomore feature, Chop Shop. It also focuses on the urban immigrant poor. The main characters of this film are homeless Hispanic orphans, Ale and his teen sister Izzy. Ale is employed at a junkyard, and he gets his sister a job with his boss's wife. The two plan to save their money to buy a food delivery truck, on which Ale has been told he can get a good deal. The film has one conflict that gives it a little energy, when Ale learns that his sister is working nights as a prostitute. It's at its strongest when it's concentrating on Ale's anger and confusion. He begins to act out by committing crimes, which get progressively more serious. The film doesn't have a lot going on, but with this plot point giving the film a mild psychological complexity, it's a decent watch. Unfortunately, the film craps out at the end with a lame, forced plot twist that so ridiculously echoes the one at the end of Man Push Cart that Bahrani should be embarrassed to have went with it. And that final shot is pseudo-poetic trash. Well, it impresses Roger Ebert, anyway.
