Chop Shop (film)
Encyclopedia
Chop Shop is a 2007 American drama film
co-written, edited, and directed by Ramin Bahrani
. The film tells the story of a twelve-year-old street orphan living and working in Willets Point
, an area in Queens
, New York
filled with automobile repair shop
s, scrapyards
and garbage dumps.
Chop Shop premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
.
, is looking for new workers.
Ale soon begins working at the repair shop, which Rob has also allowed him to live in. He is soon joined by his sister Isamar ("Izzy", played by Isamar Gonzales) who he finds work for in a food van that sells food to workers on the street. Ale later finds a van being sold by Carlos' uncle that he believes he can fix up and turn into his and Izzy's own food van business. The two begin saving their money to buy the $4,500 van. One night, Ale and Carlos go to the nearby truck stop
to see the prostitutes
working. There they discover that Isamar is working as a prostitute. Ale is disheartened by the fact but does not confront Isamar about it. The two continue working and saving their money up for the van. Ale makes additional money by selling pirated
DVDs, selling hubcap
s he steals from cars parked at the nearby stadium, and working for another auto shop owner, Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) by stripped down a stolen car.
One day, after hearing his sister talk on the phone to what he believes is a prostitution customer or a boyfriend, he steals some money from his sister and, together with the money they have saved, buys the van from Carlos' uncle. When he gets Ahmad to look into the repair of the van, however, he is informed that the interior of the van is unfit to serve food off and would cost around $10,000 to fix up. Angry that Carlos' uncle ripped him off, Ale starts a fight with Carlos before getting pulled off. With his dreams crushed, Ale goes to the stadium and snatches a woman's handbag and gets a phone he fails to sell. Isamar questions him about the phone. He yells at her and demands that she "should be working," meaning she should be selling herself as a prostitute to make money for them. Isamar realizes her brother knows about her secret. Ale decides to get the van stripped for parts and loses money.
Ale has nothing left. His dreams and his life have been "chopped up" into parts. He goes to the truck stop to look for Isamar. There, he begins to attack the man receiving a blowjob from his sister, before the two of them run back to the auto shop. When they get there, Izzy hides in the toilet and doesn't speak to Ale. The film ends the next day with Ale feeding seeds to the area's pigeons. The pigeons' sudden arrival make Isamar smile with her brother. She then scares them away and they go flying up into the sky.
, Queens
in the area around Shea Stadium
. It was made using primarily non-actors in the style of neorealism
.
The film was shot using the Sony F900.
named it the 3rd best film of 2008, and Roger Ebert
of the Chicago Sun-Times
named it as not only one of the 20 best films of 2008, but also the 6th best film of the decade. and put it also in his list of great movies.
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
co-written, edited, and directed by Ramin Bahrani
Ramin Bahrani
Ramin Bahrani is an American director and screenwriter. Film critic Roger Ebert listed Bahrani's film Chop Shop as the 6th best film of the decade and hailed Bahrani as "the director of the decade." Bahrani was the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, and was the subject of...
. The film tells the story of a twelve-year-old street orphan living and working in Willets Point
Willets Point, Queens
Willets Point, also known locally as the Iron Triangle, is the name currently applied to a neighborhood of Corona, in the New York City borough of Queens....
, an area in Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
filled with automobile repair shop
Automobile repair shop
An automobile repair shop is a place where automobiles are repaired by auto mechanics and electricians.- Types :The automotive garage can be divided in so many category....
s, scrapyards
Scrap
Scrap is a term used to describe recyclable and other materials left over from every manner of product consumption, such as parts of vehicles, building supplies, and surplus materials. Unlike waste, scrap has significant monetary value...
and garbage dumps.
Chop Shop premiered at the 2007 Cannes Film Festival
2007 Cannes Film Festival
The 2007 Cannes Film Festival, the sixtieth, ran from 16 to 27 May 2007. Wong Kar-wai's My Blueberry Nights opened the festival, and Denys Arcand's The Age of Ignorance closed...
.
Plot
Chop Shop tells the story of Alejandro "Ale" (Alejandro Polanco), a 12-year-old Latino street orphan from Queens, New York. The film opens with Ale waiting by a roadside with several other men for work. A man in pickup truck arrives looking for two workers. He tells Ale that he is not needed but Ale jumps into the back of the truck anyway. After realizing that Ale is in the back, he stops the truck and sends Ale on his way with some money for breakfast. Ale spends rest of the day selling chocolate and candy to passengers on trains with his friend Carlos (Carlos Zapata). After they finish selling the candy, Carlos informs Ale that Rob (Rob Sowulski), the owner of an auto repair shop in Willets PointWillets Point, Queens
Willets Point, also known locally as the Iron Triangle, is the name currently applied to a neighborhood of Corona, in the New York City borough of Queens....
, is looking for new workers.
Ale soon begins working at the repair shop, which Rob has also allowed him to live in. He is soon joined by his sister Isamar ("Izzy", played by Isamar Gonzales) who he finds work for in a food van that sells food to workers on the street. Ale later finds a van being sold by Carlos' uncle that he believes he can fix up and turn into his and Izzy's own food van business. The two begin saving their money to buy the $4,500 van. One night, Ale and Carlos go to the nearby truck stop
Truck stop
A truck stop is a commercial facility predicated on providing fuel, parking, and often food and other services to motorists and truck drivers...
to see the prostitutes
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
working. There they discover that Isamar is working as a prostitute. Ale is disheartened by the fact but does not confront Isamar about it. The two continue working and saving their money up for the van. Ale makes additional money by selling pirated
Copyright infringement of audio-visual works
Copyright infringement of audio-visual works, often referred to as piracy or warez, occurs when unauthorized copies are made of music, movies and similar works. Incidence of copyright infringement has grown dramatically since the late 1970s, as technology has facilitated the unauthorized...
DVDs, selling hubcap
Hubcap
A hubcap, wheel cover or wheel trim is a decorative disk on an automobile wheel that covers at least a central portion of the wheel. Cars with stamped steel wheels often use a full wheel cover that conceals the entire wheel. Cars with alloy wheels or styled steel wheels generally use smaller...
s he steals from cars parked at the nearby stadium, and working for another auto shop owner, Ahmad (Ahmad Razvi) by stripped down a stolen car.
One day, after hearing his sister talk on the phone to what he believes is a prostitution customer or a boyfriend, he steals some money from his sister and, together with the money they have saved, buys the van from Carlos' uncle. When he gets Ahmad to look into the repair of the van, however, he is informed that the interior of the van is unfit to serve food off and would cost around $10,000 to fix up. Angry that Carlos' uncle ripped him off, Ale starts a fight with Carlos before getting pulled off. With his dreams crushed, Ale goes to the stadium and snatches a woman's handbag and gets a phone he fails to sell. Isamar questions him about the phone. He yells at her and demands that she "should be working," meaning she should be selling herself as a prostitute to make money for them. Isamar realizes her brother knows about her secret. Ale decides to get the van stripped for parts and loses money.
Ale has nothing left. His dreams and his life have been "chopped up" into parts. He goes to the truck stop to look for Isamar. There, he begins to attack the man receiving a blowjob from his sister, before the two of them run back to the auto shop. When they get there, Izzy hides in the toilet and doesn't speak to Ale. The film ends the next day with Ale feeding seeds to the area's pigeons. The pigeons' sudden arrival make Isamar smile with her brother. She then scares them away and they go flying up into the sky.
Cast
- Alejandro Polanco as Alejandro "Ale"
- Isamar Gonzales as Isamar "Izzy"
- Rob Sowulski as Rob
- Carlos Zapata as Carlos
- Ahmad Razvi as Ahmad
Production
Chop Shop was filmed and takes place in the neighborhood of Willets PointWillets Point, Queens
Willets Point, also known locally as the Iron Triangle, is the name currently applied to a neighborhood of Corona, in the New York City borough of Queens....
, Queens
Queens
Queens is the easternmost of the five boroughs of New York City. The largest borough in area and the second-largest in population, it is coextensive with Queens County, an administrative division of New York state, in the United States....
in the area around Shea Stadium
Shea Stadium
William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, usually shortened to Shea Stadium or just Shea , was a stadium in the New York City borough of Queens, in Flushing Meadows–Corona Park. It was the home baseball park of Major League Baseball's New York Mets from 1964 to 2008...
. It was made using primarily non-actors in the style of neorealism
Neorealism (art)
In art, neorealism was established by the ex-Camden Town Group painters Charles Ginner and Harold Gilman at the beginning of World War I. They set out to explore the spirit of their age through the shapes and colours of daily life...
.
The film was shot using the Sony F900.
Critical reception
The film appeared on some critics' top ten lists of the best films of 2008. Andrew O'Hehir of SalonSalon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
named it the 3rd best film of 2008, and Roger Ebert
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert is an American film critic and screenwriter. He is the first film critic to win a Pulitzer Prize for Criticism.Ebert is known for his film review column and for the television programs Sneak Previews, At the Movies with Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert, and Siskel and Ebert and The...
of the Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
The Chicago Sun-Times is an American daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois. It is the flagship paper of the Sun-Times Media Group.-History:The Chicago Sun-Times is the oldest continuously published daily newspaper in the city...
named it as not only one of the 20 best films of 2008, but also the 6th best film of the decade. and put it also in his list of great movies.
Awards and nominations
- Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, Official Selection Director's Fortnight - Toronto Film Festival, Official Selection
- American Film InstituteAmerican Film InstituteThe American Film Institute is an independent non-profit organization created by the National Endowment for the Arts, which was established in 1967 when President Lyndon B. Johnson signed the National Foundation on the Arts and the Humanities Act...
Film Festival, International Competition - Berlin Film Festival, Official Selection Generation
- Independent Spirit Award, Someone to Watch Director - Ramin BahraniRamin BahraniRamin Bahrani is an American director and screenwriter. Film critic Roger Ebert listed Bahrani's film Chop Shop as the 6th best film of the decade and hailed Bahrani as "the director of the decade." Bahrani was the recipient of the prestigious 2009 Guggenheim Fellowship, and was the subject of...
, Winner 2007 - Independent Spirit Award, Best Director - Ramin Bahrani, Nominee 2008
- Independent Spirit Award, Best Cinematography - Michael Simmonds, Nominee 2008
- Gotham Award, Alejandro Polanco, Breakthrough Actor, Nominee