oscar jubis
11-18-2007, 04:21 PM
Choking Man is set in Jamaica, Queens, a neighborhood where reportedly 140 different languages are spoken. Rick, a sympathetic Greek man, is the owner of Olympic Diner. His quiet wife is the cashier; a surly Mexican cooks; there's Jerry, a jokester from Philadelphia who did time for selling drugs, and middle-aged, long-suffering waitress Teri. The film's protagonist is Jorge, a pathologically shy busboy from Ecuador. When Rick hires a new waitress named Amy, a cute and vivacious Chinese girl, Jerry and Jorge compete for her attention.
Choking Man is quite a departure for Steve Barron, who directed groundbreaking music videos in the early 80s and went on to make Electric Dreams, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Coneheads. His latest feature is an independent, low-budget film, based on his own script, that depicts a young immigrant "choking on the American Dream". One can't imagine the extremely introverted, near-mute Jorge managing anywhere, and one can't imagine a more inaccessible protagonist. Barron responds to the challenge by finding novel ways to get inside Jorge's head. At first it seems that the handsome guy inside Jorge's dingy studio is his roommate. Gradually it becomes apparent he is a type of mental projection, perhaps Jorge's alter ego, or his subconscious, or an alternative personality kept locked inside his psyche. On the outside, Barron illustrates Jorge's thoughts and imaginings via brief animated sequences. As a result, Choking Man manages to create a rich character study of an individual cinema rarely bothers to portray. The excellent ensemble cast features Mandy Patikin as Rick, and newcomers Octavio Gomez Berrios and Eugenia Yuan. Choking Man was named "Best Film Not Playting at a Theater Near You" at the Gotham Awards, but it's finally enjoying a deserved theatrical release.
Choking Man is quite a departure for Steve Barron, who directed groundbreaking music videos in the early 80s and went on to make Electric Dreams, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, and Coneheads. His latest feature is an independent, low-budget film, based on his own script, that depicts a young immigrant "choking on the American Dream". One can't imagine the extremely introverted, near-mute Jorge managing anywhere, and one can't imagine a more inaccessible protagonist. Barron responds to the challenge by finding novel ways to get inside Jorge's head. At first it seems that the handsome guy inside Jorge's dingy studio is his roommate. Gradually it becomes apparent he is a type of mental projection, perhaps Jorge's alter ego, or his subconscious, or an alternative personality kept locked inside his psyche. On the outside, Barron illustrates Jorge's thoughts and imaginings via brief animated sequences. As a result, Choking Man manages to create a rich character study of an individual cinema rarely bothers to portray. The excellent ensemble cast features Mandy Patikin as Rick, and newcomers Octavio Gomez Berrios and Eugenia Yuan. Choking Man was named "Best Film Not Playting at a Theater Near You" at the Gotham Awards, but it's finally enjoying a deserved theatrical release.