Don’t Let Me Drown – DVD Review

The Film:

In the aftermath of 9/11, this expressionistic film highlights the travails of two Latino-American families in New York. Director Cruz Angeles, who also shares a writing credit, employs a multimedia onslaught. Because expletives predominate the few minutes of the film, it takes a few moments to settle into this realistic tale. F-Bombs away, Don’t Let Me Drownalso employs camera angles at bike level, Spanish rap, Spanish goth folk metal, missing person posters, television reports and old home movies to paint a city in dust, shock, survivor guilt and grief. Add to that combustible mix a high school couple (E.J. Bonilla and Gleendilys Inoa) falling in love and this story does not come up for air.

The film reminded this reviewer of a couple of other films from fifteen years ago. Like Kids (1995) which boasted of Chloë Sevigny and Rosario Dawson in their first starring roles, this effort featured a ensemble of young, fresh-faced actors, not twenty-somethings pretending to be teenagers. In Above the Rim(1994), Tupac and crew struck a realistic chord by not overplaying the drama, but instead letting the tale unravel on its own merits. This DVD functions similarly. For instance, we see a former janitor at the towers (one of the film’s patriarchs) working to help clean up the site. When he later expectorates a lungful of blood into the kitchen sink, the viewers know the dramatic irony of this story. We know the makeshift bandit handkerchief over his mouth will not provide any safety from the building’s razed toxins. In a reflection of himself, he asks another rain coated worker hawking up some blood, “Are you ok?” The other spits and rejoins, “Yeah, I’m fine.” Toxic carcinogen asbestos, dioxin, and Latino machismo–ain’t that a bitch? This film deservedly ranks high among the 9/11 fare to date.

The DVD:

Audio/Video: The DVD transfer appeared fine. If a bit of grit was evident, it only reinforced the tale.

DVD extras: Subtitles are available in English and Spanish. The DVD also comes with a trailer, so you can view a summary of the film you just saw.

The Film: Rating:

The DVD: Rating: