For the
sake of not having to write the same intro a million
different ways throughout the rest of time, just know that
this column avoids the overly long and sometimes dull
process of full film reviews and instead opts to break
things down based on what I thought going in, what happened
while I was there and what I learned at the end of it all.
Thanks for reading!
The
Breakdown - Forged
The Impression:
After being barraged with a parade of trailers for the Maya
Independent Film Series, I’m a bit skeptical. The series
main connective thread seems to be either a focus on Latino
filmmakers or Latino subject matters, but the films, for the
most part, look cheap and contrived. Forged, which I
grabbed because the description sounded more like a gritty
English crime film than a sappy bit of straight-to-video
schlock, is what I decided to try.
The Reality:
I picked Forged, as stated above, because from the
brief teaser paragraphs I was given for each film, it
seemed, quite honestly, like the most that might feature
overly-stylistic, over-the-top action. And I was completely
wrong. William Wedig’s second feature skirts the edge of a
crime film, Chuco (Manny Perez) has just been released from
prison after the accidental killing of his wife. He’s almost
immediately, moments after his release, sucked back in to
the crime lifestyle. This leads to Chuco discovering his now
homeless child Machito (David Perez) and turning his back on
crime and having to escape the criminal underworld and his
past and his emotions while, ahem, reforging his
relationship with his son. Wedig manages to a certain degree
to use a visibly low budget and a group of obviously amateur
actors to create a film that, well, kind of works. Perez
manages to instill Chuco with a sort of stupid charm, an
almost Lenny-like thug unable to escape the allure of crime
but not able to figure out any other way out. It isn’t a
remarkably cheery movie and Wedig uses the down-trodden
sections of Industrial Town, USA to clearly invoke the
economic hardships that might push a father in to the life
Chuco lead. It isn’t a great film, but it seems Wedig might
have a life as a director if someone passed him a bag of
money.
The Lesson:
Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose. It’s why I love being
a film critic.
- Noah Sanders
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