Though it tells a sad story of a small group of runaway children living in squalor, the courage and survival instincts of some of these kids is inspiring. The filmmakers, to their credit, avoid preaching or commentary and there is (thankfully) no narration nor much incidental music to manipulate the viewer's emotional response, as so many lesser documentaries try to do. The DVD contains helpful follow-ups telling where the kids were at after the filming was done. Some of their stories are sad, others hopeful. The documentary doesn't create phony drama with "heroes" and "villains," it doesn't condemn or point fingers at parents or society but lets the audience make up its own mind, and hopefully some viewers will be inspired by this film to make a difference about troubled kids in their own communities.
Reviews
2 Reviews
Scarface
(1983)
Powerful, classic '80s gangster flick
5 July 2001
A very powerful, extravagantly violent update of the old gangster-film genre that just radiates all the excess and egotism of the 1980s. Pacino is in top form as a Cuban refugee in this dark, socially-challenging take on the old "rags-to-riches" stories that epitomize American capitalism. Using the 1980 Mariel Boatlift as a launching point, two potent filmmakers (writer Stone and director DePalma) challenge '80s myths of wretched excess and narcisscism, and it could not have been done without Pacino's brilliance at portraying the self-obsessed, arrogant yet insecure hero Tony Montana. A good film to compare and contrast with "The Godfather," (daring immigrants, American dream, underworld morals, etc.) but this time the film's focus is on a single determined man rather than a large organization.
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