I watched the movie Live and Die in East LA a few days ago. I approached watching it very cautiously, but I was attracted by the name of the film, which is quite similar to the 1985 classic by director William Friedkin. I was greeted by a huge pleasant surprise, the young director Attila Korosi made his noir thriller-drama with very modest means and the result is surprisingly outstanding. I have to point out the hidden symbolic signs and the surrealistic management of the story where the events are intertwined, and then I didn't even mention the great animation that leads us to an easier understanding of the film. The cast, including Robert Lasardo, fully accepted the director's suggestions and identified with the characters. The dialogues that the director put into the mouths of his actors are brilliant. What impressed me the most in the film were the symbols that the director consciously uses to evoke the following events. One of the most beautiful examples of all this is when Anita leaves the airport with a t-shirt with the image of a corpse's head that emphasizes the 'evil' she carries with her. Another similar example is when Attila is thinking about how to convince his father to let his sister live with him in the US and behind him is a pack of wolves which show the strength and unity he feels towards his family and how protective he really is. I could list more symbols and symbols, but enough to mention only the part of the cat and the mass and the snake with the mass. The film is quite different from current cinema films in that it forces creativity because it gives the viewer the opportunity to understand the film at his own discretion. The director leads us from question to question whether our life is predestined or we are the makers of our own destiny. Questions that have occupied man for thousands of years, such as unfulfilled promises and the case, how they affect an individual, a group of people or the entire human community.
Something about which, in my opinion, I could give a critical assessment is the small use of Anita's character, since she radiates irresistible charm and at the same time is dangerous as hell to herself and to everyone around her.
I also think that the director could have given more space to the great Richard Cabral.
All in all, the debut of the director is, for me, the best thing I've seen on screens in recent times. I believe that the time is coming for such brave and realistic films instead of Hollywood crap and dumbing down the audience with special effects without any good story.
Taking everything into account, due to the courage and the entire content of the film, my rating is the maximum, out of 10, a pure 10.
Something about which, in my opinion, I could give a critical assessment is the small use of Anita's character, since she radiates irresistible charm and at the same time is dangerous as hell to herself and to everyone around her.
I also think that the director could have given more space to the great Richard Cabral.
All in all, the debut of the director is, for me, the best thing I've seen on screens in recent times. I believe that the time is coming for such brave and realistic films instead of Hollywood crap and dumbing down the audience with special effects without any good story.
Taking everything into account, due to the courage and the entire content of the film, my rating is the maximum, out of 10, a pure 10.