Fresh [Blu-ray]

"Anything lost can be found again, except for time wasted."
Michael, a.k.a. "Fresh", is a 12-year-old drug dealer who lives in a run-down house with his aunt and other orphaned children in a dangerous Brooklyn neighborhood. Having grown up in a harsh culture, he is a boy who shows little emotion despite witnessing the revulsion of street life on a regular basis. His mother is long gone, his sister has resorted to prostitution, and his father is completely estranged-although every now and then he meets with his father to play speed chess, through which he is taught street knowledge. At first Fresh aspires to live the life of a powerful drug dealer, but one day a heartrending incident causes him to rethink his dreams and consider a better possible future.

Directed by Boaz Yakin (who also directed "Remember the Titans"--a *completely* different film), "Fresh" is an astonishingly well-done film that left me stunned long after it ended. By depicting a brutal life through the eyes of a young boy, the film tells a bleak story by taking its viewers...

An INCREDIBLE movie that suffered from lousy distribution
With the exception of a audio track that sometimes gives the impression that students were hired to record the sound, this is quite possibly a perfect movie. Given two thumbs WAY up by Siskel and Ebert, this film is a tightly written and well acted. The initial opening, which confused me at first, on later viewings revealed itself to be the setting of the chessboard upon which the title character plays his most important game -- Namely, his life. If you are a lover of suspense, intelligence, or chess (Fresh uses chess tactics to checkmate his opponents and save the "queen") than This is the film for you. Because, at first glance, this film is about African Americans and drugs -- but with relatively little violence, the distributors had no idea what to do with it and it received lousy distribution and little advirtising. It is NOT however so much a film about drugs and violence, as it is about an incredibly intelligent, hard working kid who uses all the resources...

An Overlooked Gem
This is a very recent film that I watched at the suggestion of one of my co-workers (Hey Harlan!). I was captivated by this film from beginning to end. Its raw power is undescribable, and the performances by the lead actor in particular (Sean Nelson) was brilliant. The story deals with a young boy who has become a pint size drug runner. He, however, is extremely intelligent and knows that there is no future in this type of life. He sets out to become a man, and in the process many lives are changed, most importantly his own. It is a film of astonishing and unrelenting power which should be seen by everyone. I was very impressed with screenwriter/director Boaz Yakim's decision not to put the usual soundtrack that befuddles urban films, instead, the instrumental score brings yet another dimension to this already multi-layered motion picture. Kudos to Giancarlo Esposito in the role of Esteban.

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