Manito
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Manito
Plot
Yet another American filmmaker inspired by the storytelling economy of Dogme 95, writer/director Eric Eason shot his feature debut, Manito, on digital video with a tiny budget and cast the film predominantly with first-time actors. Native New Yorker Eason's tale takes place in the Puerto Rican community of Washington Heights. Manny (Leo Minaya) is graduating high school near the top of his class and is headed to Syracuse University on a full scholarship. His family proudly organizes a massive graduation party, paid for by his older brother, Junior (Franky G.). Junior is a habitual womanizer who's done time for dealing drugs, but now he's working as a contractor. He's still hustling -- he falsifies his insurance certificate for a new job and hires illegal Mexican workers off the street -- but he's trying to pull his life together and support his wife, Miriam (Julissa Lopez), and their little boy. But his big celebration for Manny (staged at the famous Jimmy's Bronx Café) does not go smoothly. Their father, Oscar (Manuel Cabral), a reformed crack dealer, tries to participate in the big event, but Junior, still haunted by their ugly past, chases Oscar off, threatening to kill him. Manny has a crush on a sexually mature classmate, Marisol (Jessica Morales), and when he escorts her home from the party, they're accosted on the subway by two hoods who molest Marisol and steal Manny's graduation money. Just when it seems the world might be opening up to them, Manny and Junior find their hopes for the future in jeopardy. Manito won a Special Jury Prize for its ensemble cast at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival, and was shown in competition at the 2002 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Josh Ralske, RoviReview
Eric Eason's debut feature Manito is a lively and affectionate portrait of one dysfunctional Puerto Rican family, but in the end the film devolves into melodrama. With storytelling skill and agility, Eason introduces the Moreno family, letting the audience get to know his characters and revealing key information at a naturalistic pace. He's aided by a talented cast, including the energetic Franky G. as Junior, a uniquely charming scoundrel. Franky G.'s performance is one of the real pleasures in the film. As fast as Junior can talk, the actor lets us see that he's not quite as slick as he thinks he is and it's amusing to watch him slip out of one jam after another, knowing that it's just a matter of time before he's tripped up. Junior is a likeable but deeply flawed young man. The power of his love for his diligent younger brother is inextricably linked to the rage he feels toward their negligent father. Leo Minaya's charismatic performance as the shy, but intelligent Manny is much more low-key, but equally engaging. Eason's entertainingly grungy film, shot on digital video, has room for a number of strong supporting characters and captures a lot of comic detail. One particularly memorable visual gag has Junior picking up a group of illegal Mexican workers for a construction job. They're all wearing dress shirts and bow ties from their most recent work in a restaurant and Junior later tries to tell his client that his crew always dresses up for the first day of a job. For most of its length, Manito is an exemplary urban drama, with flashes of wit and dark undertones. But at the end, when Eason's narrative veers into the fatalistic, it seems more a bow to genre conventions than anything organic or heartfelt. ~ Josh Ralske, RoviCast
- Franky G. - Junior Moreno
- Leo Minaya - Manny Moreno
- Manuel Cabral - Oscar Moreno
- Julissa Lopez - Miriam
- Jessica Morales - Marisol
Credit
Melissa Imossi - Art Director, Steve Carillo - Associate Producer, Darren Goldberg - First Assistant Director, Eric Eason - Director, Klyle Henry - Editor, Paul Corvino - Executive Producer, Peggy Fry - Executive Producer, John P. McGrath - Executive Producer, Neil Davis - Executive Producer, Saundi Wilson - Composer (Music Score), Steve Carillo - Camera Operator, Luis Armada - Camera Operator, Christine Darch - Production Designer, Didier Gertsch - Cinematographer, Allen Bain - Producer, Jesse Scolaro - Producer, Ferenc Toth - Producer, Lanre Olibisi - Sound/Sound Designer, Eric Eason - Screenwriter| Manina, la Fille Sans Voile (1952 Film), Manin Densha (1957 Film) | |
| Manja Valewska (1936 Film), Manji (1964 Film) |
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Manito (film)
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This article relies largely or entirely upon a single source. Please help improve this article by introducing citations to additional sources. Discussion about the problems with the sole source used may be found on the talk page. (September 2010) |
| Manito | |
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| Directed by | Eric Eason |
| Produced by | Jesse Scolaro Allen Bain |
| Written by | Eric Eason |
| Starring | Franky G Leo Minaya Manuel Cabral Julissa Lopez Jessica Morales Hector Gonzalez Panchito Gomez Fulanito |
| Music by | Saundi Wilson |
| Cinematography | Didier Gertsch |
| Editing by | Kyle Henry |
| Distributed by | Film Movement.com |
| Release date(s) | 2003 (USA) |
| Running time | 76 minutes |
| Language | English and Spanish with subtitles |
| Budget | $25,000 (estimated) |
Manito is a 2002 American independent film written and directed by first time film maker Eric Eason. Shot in the cinema verite style, Manito chronicles 48 incident-packed hours in the lives of a Washington Heights Latino family. One of the most critically acclaimed films of the year Manito was hailed by critics as a film that heralded the reemergence of American neorealism and won a Special Jury Prize for Best Ensemble Cast at the Sundance Film Festival and Best Emerging Filmmaker at the Tribeca Film Festival.[1]
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Plot
Manito is set against the backdrop of a changing inner city that was once a neighborhood filled with thugs, drugs, poverty, violence, and dubbed the cocaine capital of the United States, tells the story of two brothers Junior Moreno (Franky G), an ex-convict struggling to get his life back and Manny Moreno (Leo Minaya), the salutatorian of his high school class. Although the dealers were disappearing from the neighborhood their violent legacy remained casting a shadow over the 'hood and its residents. The film begins on the morning of Manny's graduation when various principal characters reluctantly roll out of bed, communicating with each other in overlapping arguments and cell phone conversations. Muscle-bound hunk Junior Moreno immediately channels his ever-hot-tempered energy toward long-suffering wife Miriam (Julissa Lopez) as well as the Mexican foreman (Panchito Gomez) who recruits day workers for Junior's not quite legal home-plastering biz. Reasons for Miriam's wary demeanor soon become obvious: Being a husband and father hasn't cramped Junior's lady-killer instincts one whit, with wealthy female business clients definitely on his to-do list.
The day is focused on a big event: Younger sibling Manny is graduating from high school, a huge party is planned, and he is headed for Syracuse University on a full scholarship. He is the apple of everyone's eye, including his grandpa (Hector Gonzalez). Conspicuously absent from the preparations, however, is his and Junior's father Oscar (Manuel Cabral), who runs a bodega in the neighborhood but is ostracized from all contact. Only well into the story—after he's been forcibly ejected from the boisterous celebration—do we learn why: Oscar's criminal activities landed Junior in prison, after which the father abandoned him and the rest of the family. This black sheep's uninvited appearance casts a pall over the hitherto raucous party. As it breaks up, Manny insists on escorting home his date, gorgeous single-mom classmate Marisol (Jessica Morales). On the subway, two punch-drunk thugs interrupt their sweet courtship. When things get scary, Marisol uses her mace can, instigating a harrowing chase from which the young couple barely escapes. Shaken, Manny refuses an offer to sleep over. Marisol, afraid the thugs are still waiting outside, presses a handgun on him "for protection."
The next morning dawns with a new series of cell phone calls: Manny is in jail for shooting an attacker who's now in a coma; the second assailant is still at large. Junior knows from experience that little bro doesn't have what it takes to survive long in prison, especially since he's swiftly transferred to the hard-core Rikers Island.
When Junior's desperate attempts to raise bail money and secure a decent lawyer, prove fruitless, he chokes down his bitterness and approaches Oscar for help. Their tense, then terrifying confrontation reaches an awful impasse that leaves the family's future darker than before.
Cast
- Franky G as Junior Moreno
- Leo Minaya as Manny Moreno
- Manuel Cabral as Oscar Moreno
- Julissa Lopez as Miriam
- Jessica Morales as Marisol
- Hector Gonzalez as Abuelo
- Panchito Gomez as Rodchenko
- Fulanito as The Band
Awards
- Special Grand Jury Prize, Sundance Film Festival
- Best Emerging Filmmaker, TriBeCa Film Festival
- Open Palm, Gotham Awards
- Grand Jury Prize, South by South West
- Grand Jury Prize, Urbanworld Film Festival
- Best American Film, Avignon Film Festival
- Special Jury Prize, Miami International Film Festival
- Special Jury Prize, Atlanta Film Festival
- Special Jury Prize, Muestra Internacional de Cine de Santo Domingo
- Independent Spirit Award nomination, Best First Feature, Someone to Watch
Award, Motorola Producers Award[2]
References
External links
- Manito at the Internet Movie Database
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