Raising Victor Vargas (+)
The excellent trailer for this movie is better than the flick deserves. It’s a good but limited film, mostly because it’s a one-trick pony.
The story is about the sexual development of a group of young characters. Sixteen-year-old Victor (Victor Rasuk) is first seen in the bed of Fat Donna who lives in the apartment above his. He is embarrassed when it becomes public knowledge of their relationship because she, it is believed, would go to bed with anyone who asked. Later, at the neighborhood municipal pool, Victor sees a stunning girl, Judy Ramirez (Judy Marte), and he attempts to land a new conquest, which turns into puppy love.
Victor lives on the Lower East Side with his Dominican grandmother (Altagracia Guzman) who is a wonderful actor. She is also raising Victor’s brother, Nino (Silvestre Rasuk), and their couch potato sister, Vicki (Krystal Rodriguez). The film gives an insight into the relationship between the grandchildren and their religious grandmother coping with poverty and the impact of inner-city problems on the children.
Nino, envying his brother and dealing with his own raging hormones, is caught masturbating in the bathroom by Grandma. Her distress and bewilderment are wonderful to behold.
Critics have noted that this film is different, because there are no references to crimes or gangs, which usually dominate urban films. But “Raising Victor Vargas” would have benefited if additional subplots had been introduced, since the puppy love theme gets a little tiresome. Nevertheless, it is worth seeing. It is being shown at the Sunshine Theater located on East Houston at First Avenue, which was once a great Yiddish theater and now houses four movie screens.
By chance, I’ve been listening to a tape of Paul Simon’s musical “The Capeman,” that starred Marc Anthony and Ruben Blades and was absolutely terrific, although it failed on Broadway and lost Simon millions of his own dollars. The Latin music and themes of the musical as well as this movie were part of my education this week.
Lilya 4-Ever (+)
This movie was filmed in Estonia. No indication is made designating that area of the former Soviet Union as the setting, but it is clearly the Baltics.
Lilya (Oksana Akinshina) is a 16-year-old attractive young woman living in a depressed area of town with her mother (Ljubov Agapova). Her mother informs her that she is leaving for America with a Russian-American who advertised in the Soviet Union for a wife. Lilya is to stay behind and will be sent for later.
Lilya is left in the custody of her Aunt Anna (Lilia Shinkareva) who is sickly, mean and poor, and her mother soon sends word that she does not want Lilya to join her in America. Not having rent money, Lilya is forced by her aunt to leave her apartment and live alone in a decrepit hole in the wall, even more depressing than her current digs. Her one constant friend is a 14-year-old boy, Volodya (Artiom Bogucharskij), who is abused by his father. Lilya is further betrayed when she travels to Sweden and is unknowingly recruited by Andrei (Pavel Ponomarev), an organized prostitution ring member. She is rented on an hourly basis to older men in need of sexual services or, sometimes worse, wanting to act out a sexual fantasy. How she copes with this hellish life is very gripping.
Lilya is both child and adult woman—the latter because of the vile and tough experiences she endures. She carries with her a print of a child holding the hand of an angel to whom she prays in her bleakest hours until, in anger at God, she throws it and breaks the glass and frame. Her strength, which keeps her going and ultimately enables her to seek an escape, kept me on tender hooks until the very end.
As I watched the film, I felt as though I was privy to a documentary unfolding before my eyes, except for some very primitive surreal visual effects. This was especially true because of the brilliant acting of Oksana Akinshina.
Cinema Village, where I saw this flick, is an art house for offbeat, very independent movies. The theater was full, and when the lights went up a number of people in the audience had tears streaming down their cheeks, undoubtedly in pain for the many abused children of the world.
