Review of Chop Shop (2008) by Cory T — 17 Jul 2008

This is a film of quiet assertions; none of the major points of the film are ever spoken by the characters, they are left to be considered by us through inference. While this can potentially leave the unwilling to simply dismiss the film for its lack of complexity, or rather extreme simplicity, considering "Chop Shop" as a work of art is refreshingly truthful.

In the opening scene(s), we see little Alejandro scrambling into the back of a man's work truck after he has told him he didn't need his help that day. A few blocks later, the man pulls over and gives Alejandro some money for breakfast. At this point, we aren't certain where this film is set, who these people really are, what they do, etc. In the background of this exchange, we see the Chrysler building and Empire State Building (and it was then that I began to notice all of the passing cars with New York state tags).

Alejandro is a precocious young boy, of around 10, I assume, with a very strong work ethic and enough street smarts to successfully live on his own day to day. His teenage sister emerges a few scenes later and the further the two characters interact, the more we realize that Alejandro cares for his sister more than he could ever say. His sister, Isamar, probably wishes she could say how she cares for him just the same, but she remains faithfully distant. They live in a tiny room above the mechanic shop where Alejandro works in a slum of Queens. Where are these kid's parents? They are never mentioned. Again, Ramin Bahrani leaves the holes of their story open for the audience to make up their own mind about what could have happened. This is a tough story at heart, but contains characters who seem more than equipped to handle their situations from the first moments we see them.

Very rarely does an American film submerse itself into someone's life who we will probably never see again (as in, I doubt many of these actors are searching for Hollywood careers) and then leave fragments of the story untold.

The ending is quick but extraordinarily powerful. All I will say is it involves a cluster of pigeons who are waiting for their chance to fly away.

Now notice the poster for the movie.