THE BRONX IS OUT IN FORCE AT SUNDANCE!

by Ilene Marder, January 26, 2011

Although Sundance continues through next Sunday, the crowds are thinning out and the majority of premieres have screened, but the great films keep coming.

I saw GUN HILL ROAD the other night, set in my hometown, the Bronx, with a cast largely made up of Bronxites including a terrific Esai Morales who proves what a very, very fine actor he is. I happened to meet the filmmakers at a reception the night before and was prepared to like the film just for its familiar location- I went to high school on Gun Hill Road. But I was floored by the beauty and sensitivity of this film.... a deeply human story, great performances, and terrific filmmaking.

Directed by Rashid Ernesto Green, this is a compelling movie with deep understanding about a tough macho father (Morales) just out of prison, who cannot, but must learn to, accept his son's sexuality. Michael (played by astonishing newcomer Harmony Santana) has come out as Vanessa the poet and yearns to be completely female.

Part of what makes this movie so special are the performances - a mix of accomplished professional actors (Morales especially proves what a very very fine actor he is), and non-professionals that director Green literally plucked from the streets. Santana was found at a gay youth rally and was undergoing a gender transition at the same time as her character was. She is extraordinary.

Robert Salvman, who was working as a real-life bouncer, plays a scary, burly prison thug. Green saw him riding the subway in the Bronx. During the Q & A after the film, Green encouraged Salvman to tell his story:
"I came from nothing and now I got something. I was born in prison and have been in and out of prison and foster homes all my life. I did drugs. I was homeless. To get an opportunity like this makes me know that life is never over when you think it is,  and you can never give up. If you believe, good people will be drawn to you. I found my family with this cast".

There was barely a dry eye in the house.
Here's a photo of Robert and me taken at the New York Film Office party last night. He is something really special, as is GUN HILL ROAD.