All Night Bodega

Starring:Jaime Tirelli, Tammy Trull, Blanca Camacho, Romi Dias, Gabriel Salvador, Ricardo Puente, Laz Alonso, Anibal O. Lleras, Michael Philip Del Rio, Lisi DeLeon, Gwendolyn Chavez, Gia Henderson, Anthony Ruiz, Juan Piedrahita, Denia Brache, Jesse Perez, Reid Mihalko, Jenny Schweitzer, Geisha Otero, Santo Alam
Director: Felix Olivier
Studio: Xenon
Product Type: DVD

Description

Venus Castro (Tammy Trull) is a bright, headstrong 15-year-old girl born to an abusive drug addict, now living in foster care in New York City's Dominican community. Frustrated with school and contemptible of her widowed foster mother for dating undercover policeman Ralph (Jaime Terelli—City of Hope, Carlito's Way, The Preacher's Wife), Venus takes to the streets believing she can make it on her own, only to learn that she is ill-prepared for the life of a runaway. In desperation, she puts on her best tough-girl act to join the gang of drug dealer Juanita, who offers her shelter and protection—as long as Juanita gets what she wants. Venus, unaware of the consequences, soon starts two-timing Juanita with a young undercover cop (Gabriel Salvador) who happens to be Ralph's squad partner. Ralph intervenes in an attempt to return Venus to her home but is thwarted by the girl's misplaced loyalty to Juanita. Only when Venus finds herself involved in a deadly holdup of a bodega does she understand the terrible reality of the life she has chosen

Customer Reviews:

this is reality..........2005-12-16

this story is about venus who is a dominicana just trying to hang in nyc.her mother gets involved with a cop,ralph, who likes her but doesn't want the baggage of dating a single mom. venus does little to encourage him. after a falling out with her mom, she eventually hooks up with juanita who's a gangbanger, and tries to find some sense of family...

i bought this dvd with no advanced knowledge. i was impressed. tammy trull does a wonderful job as venus, the street chick who's not as tough as she looks, who tries to find love, often in all the wrong places. i have been watching a lot of films set in nyc lately and the director really captures the sense of the place. jaime tirelli as ralph gives a good performance as the cop working undercover who is only looking out for venus' best interests. the girl gang scenes with juanita are raw. i nearly winced as i saw venus getting her butt kicked as part of her initiation. but then you have to be tough to live in new york city. it's not a town to be soft in...

A little glimpse of harsh reality.......2004-05-22

I rented this movie yesterday and am now going to purchase it. As a Latina who was a) a runaway, b) a teen mother and c) part of a street gang, all of what goes on in this movie hit me hard. Venus Castro is a 15 year old girl who is having a bad day...actually, just an extension of what has been a bad life. Taken in at the age of nine by her biological father and stepmom, but also as a foster child, her confusing beginning lends to the dissatisfaction she feels with her life. Her stepmother has been good to her, but seemingly always throwing the fact that she has raised another woman's child in Venus' face. Complicating this already twisted family scenario is that when the movie begins, Venus' dad has died only the week before, and her setpmother is actually relieved. Still not giving up on Venus, the two have to try and figure out what kind of relationship they now have. As we enter the movie, Venus is having a bad day. Enticed by street life but knowing little of the realities of it, Venus is torn by wanting to be close to her stepmom but resenting her just the same. Problems at school are thrown into the mix, and Venus seems depressed and confused. Her stepmother goes out on a date with a cop (less than a month after her dad dies) and the stepmother catches Venus playing with an empty gun her little brother brought home, the same day. After that, she is caught by police and arrested because she just happened to be walking in the wrong place at the wrong time. Her stepmother doesn't believe her innocence, and an argument takes place in which the stepmom voices resentments that have probably been building for a very long time. Venus takes to the streets and is confronted by one situation after another, which she is ill equipped to deal with. She makes one bad choice after another. She is raped, and then further victimized by older people around her who can't see past their own selfish needs. The ending of the movie leaves you wondering what Venus will do next. I found this movie to be a powerful, realistic view of the things that can happen, how one bad decision can snowball into a situation that you can't control. I recommend this to parents with teens. The images are harsh and disturbing at times, but in this day and age sometimes the jolt is the difference in the decisions your kids will make. I also think the movie gives a good inside glimpse into the complicated, difficult, but livable dynamics of inner city Hispanic families. The entire movie appears to have been filmed in New York (I could actually pinpoint where they were on several occasions) and the grittiness of the areas Tourists don't actually want to visit makes the movie all the more realistic. The soundtrack is also great. Highly recommended!

All Night Bodega: trying to make it in a NYC barrio.......2004-04-29

I recently purchased this movie and have to admit, it was quite an interesting movie. This particular movie unfolds with the life of a young Latina Venus Castro played by Tammy Trull. She is frustrated with not making it: at home, in school, in the neighborhood, absent father and mother, and, not making it in foster care.

Venus leaves home due to an incident, she was arrested for being at the wrong place and wrong time. Her foster care mother is fed up with excuses, even legitimate ones, and an explosive argument takes on a new form, in which Venus leaves home.

From her departure, Venus is on her own. She trusts a man to take her in to only be raped by one of the men in the apartment. She gets taken in by a young woman who was also in the same cell as her; this woman is about the street hustle. Venus starts to deal drugs to survive; she gets caught up in a maze of confusion and eventually gets involved in a store hold up.

I would recommend this movie for its entertainment value as well as for its sociological understanding on troubled youths trying to make it in a Latino barrio against the odds of equal chances of survival.

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