Considering that this is Van San first film... this is highly impressive. I love 16mm film and it was really well used in this film... many shot looks like beautiful photos from the late 1800s and early 1900s. However, I'm sure how the choice of 16mm is relevant for this specific movie... while I like the aesthetic, I'm not sure it was the most logical aesthetic choice for this specific movie. In my opinion, some aspects of this movie are also underdeveloped... probably because of a lack of budget. For instance, near the end of the film, there is a police chase where its very hard to figure out what is going on. Moreover, some of the dialogue and narration line feel flat and it is sometime hard to know what emotion the actor wishes to portray.
What I found interesting in this movie is its theme. Everything feels like a documentary... with no attempt to judge its characters or make them appear more sympathetic then they are. Moreover, their is no attempt to expose the character's psyche... only their actions are exposed. As such, it may be hard to figure out what motivates the characters and the impressions I got of their intent may be wrong. On my part, I felt like the mexican characters were only interested by their own survival and only hanged out with Walt so he'd give them money and food. Walt didn't feel like the hopeless romantic that he seems to view himself as... but as an actual sexual predator who use the fact that the mexicans need help to put them in a situation where they can't refuse his sexual advances. A scene where one of the mexican violently push him and tell him in spanish that he doesnt want to be molested anymore feels and where Walt say that he is just playing hard to get feels very similar to what we heard during the me too movement. As such, the relationship between the characters seemed based on need and power... which I actually found very interesting... and I wouldn't be surprise that this type of relationship between mexicans and americans were (are? :( ) quite common. Since the gays weren't free to seduce whoever the wished openly, it seems logical that some of them would turn to illegal immigrants. The fact that all this is delived in a quasi-documentary style makes this whole thing appear raw, hypocritical, desperate and clumsy. Like I said, I think it was very interesting.
What I found interesting in this movie is its theme. Everything feels like a documentary... with no attempt to judge its characters or make them appear more sympathetic then they are. Moreover, their is no attempt to expose the character's psyche... only their actions are exposed. As such, it may be hard to figure out what motivates the characters and the impressions I got of their intent may be wrong. On my part, I felt like the mexican characters were only interested by their own survival and only hanged out with Walt so he'd give them money and food. Walt didn't feel like the hopeless romantic that he seems to view himself as... but as an actual sexual predator who use the fact that the mexicans need help to put them in a situation where they can't refuse his sexual advances. A scene where one of the mexican violently push him and tell him in spanish that he doesnt want to be molested anymore feels and where Walt say that he is just playing hard to get feels very similar to what we heard during the me too movement. As such, the relationship between the characters seemed based on need and power... which I actually found very interesting... and I wouldn't be surprise that this type of relationship between mexicans and americans were (are? :( ) quite common. Since the gays weren't free to seduce whoever the wished openly, it seems logical that some of them would turn to illegal immigrants. The fact that all this is delived in a quasi-documentary style makes this whole thing appear raw, hypocritical, desperate and clumsy. Like I said, I think it was very interesting.