Utne Reader Film Reviews, May - June 2008

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Chop Shop
(Koch Lorber; in theaters)
A neorealist gem, Chop Shop looks like it comes from some poverty-stricken forgotten pocket of the world: Think of the Brazilian favelas of City of God or the Mexican slums of Los Olvidados. But Chop Shop takes place in Queens, just a stone’s throw from Shea Stadium and a billboard that declares, ironically, “Make Dreams Happen.” In this urban wasteland, 12-year-old Alejandro survives by working at one of the area’s many chop shops, hustling clients and stealing hubcaps. He wants to make a better life for himself and his older sister, but life’s cruel realities inevitably stand in the way. The coming-of-age story may sound familiar, but director Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart) finds transcendence and tragedy in the intimate details of the everyday. Something as simple as a flock of pigeons takes on a whole new resonance. —A.K.

Lili’s Apron
(First Run Features; on DVD)
Bitter, sweet, sad, and funny, Lili’s Apron depicts the downfall of a working-class family following the Argentine economic crisis of 2001. After losing his job in a dingy restaurant, Ramón Sobrero assumes his wife’s identity (and her maid’s outfit) to work as a domestic servant for an upper-class, but equally unrefined, household. Much of the comedy comes from watching the depths to which the prototype of Argentine machismo is willing to stoop. Couched in oddball situations, the not-so-veiled social commentary points to the psychological damage inflicted by the economic collapse. The film begins and ends with music in the style of a famous Argentine tango, “Cambalache,” whose lyrics describe the 20th century as “problematic and feverish.” For the Sobreros, the 21st century has been more of the same. —Bennett Gordon

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