7 Boxes (2012)

Simply Perfect

Simply A Masterpiece

This is a coming of age storyline that you've seen in one form or another for decades. It takes a truly unique voice to make yet another one worth watching.

Worth seeing just to witness how winsome it is.

Victor is a poor kid who moves boxes on his cart in the market. He needs money to get a cell phone with a camera. He gets a job to transport 7 boxes. It's very sketchy. He gets a half of a torn US $100 bill. He's told to guard it with his life until he gets a call. Another porter is after the boxes. With his wacky friend Liz's help, he tries to stay one step ahead of everybody.The desperation for money is palpable and I love that he needs the money for a cell phone. It's not something that comes to my mind right away. However it's so obvious if the kid doesn't have one. It makes the movie even more compelling. The movie is great technically. There is real kinetic energy in the camera work. The story is solid and full of thrills. There is also a bit of gallows humor. It's a terrific indie.

With both substance and style. Plenty of style here. We are taken through the maze of a large market place in Paraguay. And the plot – revolving around the main character (who is well played by Celso Franco) – is also a maze with many twists and turns. We are kept guessing as to what will happen next. The characters are all well done – and so are their interactions.It's a swell film to watch with a reasonably good resolution. I can just imagine what Hollywood would do with this – pouring in loads of explosions and over-the-top gunfights. Instead we get a minimal exposure of violence – and instead of massive noise we get character development.

This may be the first film I've seen from Paraguay although coincidentally it's neighbor, Argentina, has a highly regarded film industry that produces exception films. This film shows us, with it's imaginative narrative, a Paraguayan economy that is agricultural; marketplace driven; high income inequality where age (as in India for example) is no barrier to labor for survival. So what is the story? A young, high school age, man plies the market streets daily with his wheelbarrow asking shoppers & merchants if he can earn a few Guarani (the exchange numbers to US dollars will show you the inflationary pressures just to be able to afford a small meal) to haul their merchandise. His decision making shows a lack of formal education and his poverty shows a lack of resources e.g. even a cell phone. His only other exposure to technology is seeing a TV in a shop window where he imagines himself to be on the screen. Though a series of comedic and tragic missteps his dream is about to become reality. Acting, directing, cinematography, script, all on a low budget - well done!

I saw this movie in a festival in town a couple of weeks ago, and i wasn't sure of what i was going to see.I was hooked on the screen from the first scenes and never let me down. The film is about a boy, Victor, who works in a market carrying merchandise in a dolly. He needs money but hasn't got any jobs yet, until he gets an offer to carry 7 boxes with unknown contents for a 100 dollar payment, and that gets him into complicated situations where his life could be in danger.The characters are very real, and the situations, some are funny, some are thrilling, but is an exciting story as a whole. I loved the camera work and the acting of the cast.A very entertaining film, and a nice surprise from Paraguay.