"Manito" is an independent film in every sense of the term. From the gritty lightning down to the jumpy out of focus shorts, "Manito" envelops neorealism. At a running time of not much more than an hour, the small investment required is well worth ones time. The payoff however is disappointing considering what could have been. While watching "Manito" I found myself wondering if the flow of the film was done for artistic or budgetary reasons. I cannot give credit to a film for artistic achievement when in truth it was all that it could afford. This is not to suggest that "Manito" is low budget (even though it is), in contrast, the credit instead must be given to how engrossing of a story can be created by anybody with enough ambition to do so.
In reality "Manito" isn't a feature film, it's what I consider to be a short. Technically it gets lumped in with the feature films, but when there are a number of television shows that match your running time it all becomes arbitrary. The premise behind "Manito" is that the older brother 'Junior' is trying to rebuild his life after getting out of prison while his younger brother 'Manny' is doing a good job of preventing himself from following his older siblings footsteps. The film does a good job of bringing the audience into the story and making us care about the characters, almost to a fault. I ended up caring so much about these characters that when the film was over I felt cheated that there wasn't more closure. Sure artistic license will defend the choices made, but I feel that much more was possible if another 10- 15 minutes of material was written.
My complaints are actually quite minute when it comes down to overall enjoyment. The dialog while far from creative is grounded and delivered with great emotion that makes me care as much as they do. 'Junior' is the star of the film and carries much of the weight. The viewer can't help but feel like he's really doing everything he can to make right on his life despite still being human and showcasing flaws that many of us without records posses.
In the end, "Manito" is another example of how powerful nature is in our development. No matter what our plan may be for our life. No matter how well we execute our plan. Our environment is likely to win-out in the end. Fortunate people in destructive environments who allow themselves to fall victim to circumstance are a cautionary tale for the rest of us to never take our good-fortune for granted.
Read this and other reviews at my website: CD1083.com
In reality "Manito" isn't a feature film, it's what I consider to be a short. Technically it gets lumped in with the feature films, but when there are a number of television shows that match your running time it all becomes arbitrary. The premise behind "Manito" is that the older brother 'Junior' is trying to rebuild his life after getting out of prison while his younger brother 'Manny' is doing a good job of preventing himself from following his older siblings footsteps. The film does a good job of bringing the audience into the story and making us care about the characters, almost to a fault. I ended up caring so much about these characters that when the film was over I felt cheated that there wasn't more closure. Sure artistic license will defend the choices made, but I feel that much more was possible if another 10- 15 minutes of material was written.
My complaints are actually quite minute when it comes down to overall enjoyment. The dialog while far from creative is grounded and delivered with great emotion that makes me care as much as they do. 'Junior' is the star of the film and carries much of the weight. The viewer can't help but feel like he's really doing everything he can to make right on his life despite still being human and showcasing flaws that many of us without records posses.
In the end, "Manito" is another example of how powerful nature is in our development. No matter what our plan may be for our life. No matter how well we execute our plan. Our environment is likely to win-out in the end. Fortunate people in destructive environments who allow themselves to fall victim to circumstance are a cautionary tale for the rest of us to never take our good-fortune for granted.
Read this and other reviews at my website: CD1083.com