Trash (2015)

I love this movie so much

Wow! Such a good movie.

Absolutely Fantastic

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

As a tale of young teens struggling against corrupt forces within a culture of poverty, 'Trash' is a captivating tale of determination, ingenuity, and moral vision. The production values are particularly high here, which I can't help but consider against the squalid conditions that are portrayed. The story moves along with lots of twists and a complex set of clues to unraveling a mystery, giving the kids credit for their intelligence.There's always facile criticisms to be made of wealthy white movie studios shooting films that exploit "Third World" concerns, so if your politics demand such sanctimony, you should turn to homegrown dramas that you can claim as authentic. If you want a well-made adventure offering hope to children who earn deliverance on their own within realistic circumstances, there are not many better than this.

When I saw that Stephen Daldry directed this it was enough to put me off watching it. However...it's well put together, well shot, edited, scripted and the young leads are superb. The poverty porn is problematic, the shots of the waste dump are aesthtically pleasing, the shots of the favela likewise. Films and other texts like this one can serve to assuage those of us living in relatively privileged conditions that actually for people living in abject poverty, well, you know, life isn't so bad at all. There's a stronger sense of community and people get on and look after one another. If you want a proper, serious, grown up film with a Latin American spin about poverty and what it does to people then look elsewhere to Pixote from 1981 or Luis Bunuels's Los Olvidados from 1946. If there's a better film than Los Olvidados on the subject out there I'd like to know what it is. All that said, I was entertained by this, I liked the points the film made about corruption on the part of the police and politicians, I liked the way it foregrounded street children as characters. Another more serious film about street children is Ali Zouaua made about 2002 in Morocco featuring a cast of Casablancan street urchins. Trash is a great movie to show young teens to get them thinking about global issues or as an introduction to world cinema but for serious social commentary one needs to look elsewhere.

A brilliantly exciting film from start to finish. The three boys are a triumph, and the way the film handles them, and uses their emotional closeness, their friendship, is a credit to Director Stephen Daldry and his crew, as well as to the three boys themselves, recruited from the streets of Brazil. The story jumps from one level of excitement to the next in a series of clever set pieces that, at the same time as they increase the tension to almost unbearable levels, answer the questions raised by the mystery; what exactly is the significance of what the boys find, as they comb through the giant mountains of trash, trying to earn enough to eat from recycling plastic and tin? The chase scenes through the favelas are exhilarating. Literally, you find yourself talking out loud. The film is a celebration of Andy Mulligan's stunning novel of the same name.

With a title like Trash, it is hard not to expect things like garbage piles and generic black plastic bags to appear on screen. One might even think, why would anyone watch a film named Trash? After all, Hollywood films can be trashy and a title like Trash does seem like a boding sign. Yet do not be fooled, all you title-judging mother****ers, Trash is absolutely nothing like its namesake.Directed by Stephen Daldry, Trash is a story about Raphael (Rickson Tev) and his chance discovery of a wallet belonging to José Angelo (Wagner Moura). Together with friends Gador (Eduardo Luis) and Rato (Gabriel Weinstein), Raphael embarks on a perilous journey to uncover the truth behind the wallet, unwittingly becoming victims to corrupted politician Santos and policeman Frederico (Selton Mello). Adapted from Andy Mulligan's young adult fiction novel, Trash has a story that seems almost like a fairytale - it is only in the lala-land of literature that fourteen-year-old trash-pickers can succeed in exposing the corrupted ways of political figures without getting themselves killed. That being said, the film succeeds in translating this highly unlikely situation from book to screen without making it seem too contrived.There are many things to look out for in Trash, like the superb editing and the wonderful cinematography by Adriano Goldman. From the mountains of trash piles to the grimy stilt houses, Goldman did a great job of capturing the decrepit beauty of these common wastelands. Chase scenes in particular, were edited well with great rhythm. Daldry's use of the boys' to-camera inserts would also be greatly appreciated by viewers who have read the novel. Seen through the to- camera inserts, the boys' frank statements better developed their characters, reflected the novel's multi-perspectives and doubled as a plot device later on in the film.Although Tev, Luis and Weinstein can be rough around the edges with emotional scenes, their energy was infectious on screen. On the other hand, Rooney Mara and Martin Sheen paled in comparison, appearing more like decorative non-playable characters beside the boys. While Moura performed within expectation, the same cannot be said of Mello, who played the role of Frederico like an emotionless corpse. In fact, if you stare hard at the screen, you will soon come to the conclusion that even a dead grouper has eyes livelier than Mello's.Acting aside, the only problem this reviewer has with Trash is Raphael's dogged pursuit for justice. When questioned about his actions, Raphael answered that he was doing so because "it is the right thing". In spite of that, it was the money left behind by José, and not the book accounting for Santos' corrupted dealings, that seemed to interest the boys. In this sense, the pursuit for justice seems more like an adventure for Raphael and his friends, rather than an act motivated by the decision to right a wrong. Then again, perhaps that was what made Trash so charming. In a world filled with dark, cynical views, the boys are a representation of what hope, perseverance and friendship can bring about.