A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

This free-wheeling drama about the life of Dito Montiel features great performances by some of your favorite actors.

The Very Best

8.9

Movie

United States of America
English, Spanish
Crime, Drama
2006
DITO MONTIEL
Adam Scarimbolo, Chance Kelly, Channing Tatum
104 min

8.9

Amelia

What it's about

Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.

The take

Not only is this multi-award-winning drama seriously star-studded, Robert Downey Jr., Rosario Dawson, Channing Tatum, and Shia LaBeouf also deliver superb performances. With two Sundance Awards and many other nominations in its pocket, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is based on the eponymous memoir by author, director, and musician, Dito Montiel, who recalls his violent childhood on the mean streets of Queens in the 1980s (LaBeouf plays the young Dito), as he visits his ailing father after 15 years away in Los Angeles (Downey Jr. plays present-day Dito). It is also real-life Dito's directorial debut, recalling the loose, improvisational style of 70s cinema a'la Scorcese. The powerful plot is told through flashbacks and fourth-wall bending monologues, while the eccentric directing style makes for a raw and immediate experience. The energy of this coming-of-age drama is off the charts!

Comments

Wow! Just wow. What a great movie, why haven’t I heard of this before?

It’s really a touching film that will reach even the most cynical and jaded of viewers. “Coming of age” movies can be pretty overly sentimental but this is a solid look at the author/screenwriter’s less than stellar life as a young man in the hard core streets of NYC in the low years of the early 80’s.

And what a cast! Everyone puts in a exemplary performance, cinematography is gritty and real. I don’t want to rave too long. It’s been a while since I’ve seen a movie that leaves you feeling like you e had an experience. This one was a real treat. Give yourself a little time to soak it on after the credits roll. You’ll need it.

5 stars

Add a comment

Your name

Your comment

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

UP NEXT 

La Belle Noiseuse (1991)

A sensual, spellbinding masterpiece depicting the creative process and its muse

8.1

The Guilty (2018)

A minimalist, razor-sharp thriller that will have you gasping for air.

9.0

The Boxer (1997)

Star-crossed lovers stand their ground in this disappointing Northern Irish drama

6.8

Wicked Little Letters (2024)

It’s not the most original mystery out there, nor the most rousing feminist piece, but Wicked Little Letters’ robust performances make it well worth watching

7.1

Belle (2013)

A stirring, though fictionalized, period drama intertwining race and romance

7.2

The Trial of the Chicago 7 (2020)

A star-studded and riveting legal drama with a blockbuster feel.

8.1

Mona Lisa (1986)

A neo-noir love story that dives deep into London’s underworld

7.7

La Chimera (2023)

A dreamy, bewitching film that ponders on ideas of lostness and longing

8.0

Forgotten Love (2023)

The stunning third take of the classic Polish pre-war melodrama

7.7

The Last Stop in Yuma County (2024)

A tight Western thriller that makes good use of its limited budget

7.2

Curated by humans, not algorithms.

agmtw logo

© 2024 agoodmovietowatch, all rights reserved.