I’ve viewed my first film produced, directed, and written by Paraguayans, courtesy of Netflix, and it's a winner. 7 Boxes (2012) is the story of a teenager who trolls a dense market in the capital city of Asuncion, asking to transport the bags of goods shoppers carry, using a rickety wooden cart. He happens to come upon a meat plant just before police are going to search it. The owner asks him to carry the boxes around until the coast is clear. A desperate older rival tries to steal the haul, certain it contains something of great value. This leads to exciting chases through the crowded mazes of the area. The most interesting theme is what certain people in dire straits will do. I don’t know enough about the country to say whether this is an overall picture of it. I hope it isn’t. Fortunately, humor leavens the narrative. Cell phones are new to the players, and the reactions to the capabilities are amusing. The most surprising and refreshing aspect is the benign portrayal of the cops. They are not the corrupt lot seen so often in movies that take place south of the border. The story is solid, but the real strength is the visuals of this heretofore unexplored territory. The young leads, Celso Franco and Lali Gonzalez, are fantastic, particularly the latter. The film was co-directed by Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schemori, who collaborated on the screenplay with Tito Chamoro. It is not their first work. They each have several credits. 1800+ contributors at IMDb have rated 7 Boxes, forging to a consensus of 7.2 of ten. On a scale of five, I rate it 3.75. It runs about an hour-and-forty-five minutes. One drawback -- the subtitles are frequently lost in the colors on the screen. I don't know if a dubbed version is available.
The floating book shop has more than seven boxes of goods available. My thanks to the kind folks who made purchases on yet another day of magnificent weather. The highlight came when a Russian gentleman who extends best wishes every day stopped to chat. Always upbeat, he displayed rare dismay. He's worried about what America is becoming. He held both hands, fingers extended, and said he waited ten years for the opportunity to come here, and he had to do all sorts of menial labor in the meantime. Once the communists knew he was leaving, he, his wife and son were treated like persona non grata. He is not happy about those amassed at the border being allowed to jump the line. Can't blame him.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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