Tuesday, June 15, 2010

A Quick Review Of The Movie Fresh

By Terry Hawkins

Boaz Yakin isn't the most well known names in film. He's really something of a writer-for-hire for the most part. The vast majority of his films have been studio projects where he was simply brought on board to bring some studio's idea of a marketable project to life. He's made very few movies that have been... More personal, you might say. Fresh, however, is his crowning achievement, and a must see movie downloads for your queue.

This movie came after Boaz Yakin's self imposed exile. At a certain point, he became disillusioned with the film industry and declared that he would be taking a hiatus from writing, at least until he felt he had something important to say. The result was a movie that truly does make a powerful statement.

The movie is named for the titular hero, Fresh, a young boy who works as a drug mule for various dealers around town. Two of which are at war with one another. So how does he keep his head above water when he would certainly be killed if one boss found out about the other? Well the twenty to fifty dollars he makes per run, he hides it in a coffee can by the railroad tracks and... After a couple years of running drugs every day for twenty to fifty bucks a run... That adds up, and the things you can do with that money if you're smart...

Each week, Fresh spends one afternoon playing chess with his father who offers him guidance and a moment to reflect upon what's going on in his life. These are sort of the Greek chorus scenes of the film, allowing both Fresh and the audience to consider what has happened before and where the movie is going to go from here. The chess also serves as a metaphor for what Fresh is doing while on the clock.

Think of it as Fistful of Dollars set in the ghetto. When a girl Fresh has a crush on, as well as a childhood friend, are murdered in a random shooting by one of the drug dealers he works for, Fresh hatches a plan to take revenge on all of the pushers and scumbags he deals with on a daily basis, freeing himself and his family from the clutches of the drug dealers.

His plan is to basically take down all of the scumbags who have been controlling his life and free himself and his family from the clutches of drug dealers. The brilliant part of this plan is that, because he's just a child, they never suspect a thing. He plays chess with them in real life, and it has to be seen whether or not he'll come out on top.

The movie can be brutally violent and shocking, which drives home the reality of Fresh's situation. The villains are truly menacing, especially the young thug who typically gives Fresh his payments and is in a perpetual state of planning to kill somebody. Fresh is a hero who manages to remain pure, knowing where he can compromise and where he cannot.

The movie is really unlike any other. We've seen movies where the hero schemes their way out of trouble, rather than fighting or using guns, but rarely do we see a movie where that hero is a ten year old boy, rarely do we see a film with a child hero in a violent situation without being a fantasy family film like Home Alone. Fresh is real, raw, frightening, and fascinating.

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