Maya Indie: Forged

Jesus “Chuco” Barrera has committed all kinds of thuggish felonies. Yet, it was an unplanned crime of passion that sent him up the river. It also devastated the life of his son Machito in William Wedig’s Forged (trailer here), which screens for a week in New York as part of the traveling Maya Indie Film Series.

It a fit of possibly substance-heightened jealous rage, Barrera shot his wife, in the face, at point blank range, in front of his young son. Barrera got manslaughter, Machito got a foster home. The kid probably had it worse. By the time Barrera is released on good behavior, his son is homeless and dead set on revenge.

Though their reunion is not what one would call heartwarming, Barrera tries to clean him up and find livable shelter for the boy. However, there is no easy sentiment in Forged, let alone instant forgiveness. Yet perhaps the fifty G’s in drug money he is carrying back to Cesar, his not so ex-crime boss, can help set up his son in a new life. Of course, walking away with mob money always leads to complications.

There is no question Manny Perez has breakout star potential. Though much of the same creative team from his middling but promising La Soga is again on-board here, Forged represents a big step up for Perez. Intense without undue showiness, he creates a compellingly unromaticized anti-hero in Barrera. He also has a more supportive supporting cast this time around, including a great stone cold villain in Jaime Tirelli’s Cesar, the king pin of Scranton, PA. Tony-nominated Margo Martindale also adds real flesh-and-blood dimension to the film as Barrera’s alcoholic mother.

Relatively few films are shot on-location in Scranton and it is not so hard to see why. However, it gives Forged a genuinely gritty vibe. Evan Wilson’s darkly-hued, vaguely bluesey score also helps set the ominous mood. Even the bleak washed-out color palate employed by cinematographer Zeus Morand materially contributes to the overall effect.

In Forged, what starts as tough-minded naturalism steadily evolves into high tragedy. That might not be the light summer popcorn fare some viewers are seeking, but it makes for a heck of a star vehicle for Perez (but not necessarily for depressed Scranton). One of the stronger entries of the Maya Indie Series, Forged screens at the Quad Cinema in New York, once a day for a week, starting this Friday (7/29-8/4).

La Soga: The Butcher’s Son

Everyone should have a skill, like butchery. “La Soga” kills people. Good enough. Don’t worry, he operates under strict government supervision—unofficially, of course. That is how things work in the D.R. in Josh Crook’s revenge drama, La Soga (a.k.a. The Butcher’s Son, trailer here), which opens this Friday in New York.

Death as a profession runs in Luisito’s family. At a tender age, he learns how to butcher hogs from his father. However, when he witnesses the impulsive murder of his father by an ambitious street thug, it makes him a bit angry. Fortunately (or not), a shadowy general takes the orphan under his wing, grooming him to become a ruthless killing machine for his special projects.

It is supposed to work something like this. The American government deports hardcase felons back to the Dominican, at the behest of the good General Colon. Then La Soga and his team track them down, rousting them on a pretext. One way or another, they “resist arrest” offering La Soga the opportunity to terminate them permanently. While problematic from an ethical point of view, there is a pragmatic elegance to scheme, as long as it is guided by pure vigilantism.

However, when La Soga learns not only is the general is taking bribes to shield predators from their retribution, but is also in business with the man who killed his father, all bets are off. Too bad that puts a damper on his budding romance with Jenny, his recently returned childhood sweetheart, who seems a bit turned off by the sight of her prospective lover gunning people down on national television. Talk about fickle.

Aside from a spot of romance between Luisito and Jenny, La Soga is about as gritty as gritty gets. Though Crook and his producing partner brother Jeff are Brooklynites, the film has a vibe and texture not unlike many of the darkly naturalistic crime films that have recently come from Mexico (La Zona, Black Sheep, etc.) Of course, that is hardly surprising given the Dominican and Washington Heights roots of its star and screenwriter, Manny Perez, and its authentic locations on the D.R.

Though not a superman, Perez is all kinds of bad as La Soga. Frankly, he is convincing enough when seething for vengeance or laying-down a beating to earn a spot in the next Expendables movie. Though sometimes a bit awkward in her film debut, Denise Quiñones also exhibits a fresh, likable screen presence as Jenny. Unfortunately, General Colon is basically a cartoon villain, without any juicy scenery-chewing. Indeed, the political subplots border on the ludicrous, as Colon conspires with some nebbish American bureaucrat, who might as well be called the Assistant Secretary of State for Graft and Vigilante Killing.

Viewers should be warned, La Soga will give them a decent introductory course in butchery by the time it is over. While the lack of a strong villain is a drawback, Perez shows great promise as an action anti-hero. It also has a dynamic soundtrack from Aventura, a group known for fusing bachata (the so-called “Dominican blues”) with contemporary styles. Not revelatory but consistently interesting, La Soga opens this Friday (8/13) at the Village East.