Peepli Live
Directed by: Anusha Rizvi & Mahmood Farooqui
Released o: August 13th, 2010 [LIMITED]
Grade: 4 out of 5 meatballs
Reviewed by: John Esther

Thanks to a lifetime of hardship resulting in hopelessness and a controversial government program, thousands of Indian farmers continue to commit suicide. The number of farmers who have committed suicide in India between 1997 and 2007 now stands at 182,936. That is about one suicide for every 31 minutes. Since the farmers cannot pay off their land and the government provides aid to the families of indebted Indian farmers who have committed suicide, why not?

A fictional account of the capitalist crisis met with government response, writer-director Anusha Rizvi's Peepli Live tells the tale of two brothers, Natha (Omkar Das Manikpuri Natha) and Budhia (Raghubir Yadav Budhi), who are about to lose their plot of rural land and want to take advantage of the government program. The question is: who is going to hang himself for the greater good?

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FORGED
Directed by: William Wedig
Released on: LA Latino Film Festival 2010
Grade: 3 out of 5 meatballs
Reviewed by: John Esther

Recently released from prison due to good behavior, no sooner does Chuco (Manny Perez) take a few steps of freedom before he finds himself trapped by his old criminal "family" and the homeless son, Machito (David Castro), he left behind and who now wants to kill his father.

Sort of thinking and trying to do what is right, the more Chuco acts like a father the more he will have to answer for his crimes.

An intense drama with notable photography by Zeus Morand and art direction by Robert Haley, the finely directed film by William Wedig is the kind of authentic independent film we need more of when we attend film festivals. Co-written by Perez and Wedig.

Cruz Reynoso: Sowing the Seeds of Justice
Directed by: Abby Ginzberg
Released on: LA Latino Film Festival 2010
Grade: 3 out of 5 meatballs
Reviewed by: John Esther

Born May 2, 1931, in Brea, California, Cruz Reynoso started breaking the rule-rs from an early age. The third child of nine, Cruz challenged the stereotypes of child Latino workers that some school officials possessed by speaking English fluently, then his mother when he said he wanted to continue with his education rather than drop out at the age of 16 and work on a farm with the family.

After graduating from Pomona College, Reynoso served two years in the U.S. Army before entering Boalt Hall at UC Berkely where he was the the only Latino in the law school. After law school, Reynoso migrated south to set up shop in El Centro, California, where he soon rose to the top of his profession, gaining positive attention for his work on behalf of working farmers and, accordingly, some negative attention from then-California Governor Ronald Reagen.

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