About A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is based on director Dito Montiel's
youth during the mideighties in the tough neighborhood of Astoria,
Queens. All his old friends have ended up dead, as junkies, or in
prison; Dito is the proverbial man who got out. For him, the "saints"
are the folks he remembers, the ones he left behind. For better or
worse, they made him who he is today. Just the way memories can flood
consciousness, Montiel uses the same motif to flood the screen with his
stories. The past gets layered upon the present, and the film comes to
life. The performances are real because the characters' words are real;
they've been said before. The strength of the film isn't looking back
through a nostalgic, Vaselined lens; instead, Montiel infuses the
memories with both the exhilaration and pain of youth. The outstanding
cast members are dedicated to finding every nuance and truth. They
capture the frenetic quality of the time, not only in the streets and
on the rooftops but also in the bustling family kitchen. Montiel's New
York is steamy with humidity, cooking, and adolescent sexuality. A
Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is an honest account of a bittersweet
return to a neighborhood that isn't the same and never will be again.—
John Cooper
youth during the mideighties in the tough neighborhood of Astoria,
Queens. All his old friends have ended up dead, as junkies, or in
prison; Dito is the proverbial man who got out. For him, the "saints"
are the folks he remembers, the ones he left behind. For better or
worse, they made him who he is today. Just the way memories can flood
consciousness, Montiel uses the same motif to flood the screen with his
stories. The past gets layered upon the present, and the film comes to
life. The performances are real because the characters' words are real;
they've been said before. The strength of the film isn't looking back
through a nostalgic, Vaselined lens; instead, Montiel infuses the
memories with both the exhilaration and pain of youth. The outstanding
cast members are dedicated to finding every nuance and truth. They
capture the frenetic quality of the time, not only in the streets and
on the rooftops but also in the bustling family kitchen. Montiel's New
York is steamy with humidity, cooking, and adolescent sexuality. A
Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is an honest account of a bittersweet
return to a neighborhood that isn't the same and never will be again.—
John Cooper
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Great Cast