A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006) User Reviews (102)

Emotionally honest

[paulmartin-2 · 8/10 · 20 November 2006]

What kind of writer reveals his troubled childhood, then directs a semi-autobiographical film about it, using a character with his own name? Bold, foolish or maybe both, that's exactly what Dito Montiel did.

Reminiscent of Larry Clark's Kids in Manhattan, it depicts adolescents growing up in a tough neighbourhood, in the borough of Queens. For some of these youth, the dangers lay not just on the streets, but also in their own homes. Dito only knew he had to get away.

At first the film is a little difficult to watch visually – the editing and hand-held camera are abrupt. As the film develops, and the story shifts into the present, it becomes evident that this was a deliberate device to depict the nature of recollection. As Dito makes the journey across the continent to visit the ill father he hasn't seen in 15 years, a montage of childhood memories flood his mind.

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints at times is not an easy film to watch but is more accessible than Kids. Both films depict the dangers faced by adolescents. While Kids depicted the consequences of those dangers, this film portrays how one boy escapes from them, but ultimately needs to confront and reconcile his past.

The performances in the film are strong. The actors are all very credible. The dialogue is saturated with authenticity. Melonie Diaz, who previously appeared in Raising Victor Vargas, beautifully portrayed Dito's childhood girlfriend Laurie. Rosario Dawson plays the grown up Laurie, and incidentally made her film debut in Kids.

Producer Robert Downey Jr. who encouraged Montiel to make the film, was excellent in an understated role as the adult Dito. The transition of actors between 1986 and the present was depicted effectively. Special mention to Chazz Palminteri, who always has a strong but unforced screen presence.

A film made with a small budget, it pays off with a strong, emotionally powerful and worthwhile story. I was surprised how the emotional impact crept up towards the end, as Dito dealt with his past as best he could.

This film is highly recommended for those who enjoy human drama in shades of grey. There's no good guy/bad guy thing happening here. It's people dealing with the hand that destiny has given them, and trying to find their way. It is full of emotional honesty and plausibility that you can buy into. And don't leave until after the final credits.

"My name is Dito and I'm going to leave everyone in this film"

[Flagrant-Baronessa · 7/10 · 22 November 2006]

In this autobiographical coming-of-age piece, director Dito Montiel confronts his gritty past in Astoria, Queens. He tells the doomed story of a teenage boy who spends his days in the seedy hot crime-infested backstreets of 1980's New York City to the day when he leaves for California and does not return until twenty years later, when his father (Chazz Palminteri) is sick. The retelling is impressive and absorbing.

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is bursting with the flair of a debut director, who is eager to employ a wide variety of techniques – steadicams, punctured narrative, flashbacks, script interjections, dreamlike non-chronological editing and an uneven pace. The good news is that it channels Spike Lee's criminal Queens street style with fast-paced local jargon that recycles 'fuck' in every sentence and snaps and crackles like kindling in a fireplace between its many thug-like characters. Owing to its coming-of-age format, the story often stays wildly unfocused and you get the feeling many scenes do not serve a purpose other than to get us a feel for the venality with which things were run.

Nevertheless, the characters are all absorbing, especially the young versions of Robert Downey Jr, Eric Roberts and Rosario Dawson. One of these is Antonio – a childhood friend of Dito's and local bully – who does wonderful improvisation-like raw lines. The vast contingent of American preeteen fangirls who were lusting after Channing Tatum after his cheesy teen movies had put me off this actor at first, but it cannot be denied that he gives one of the most intense performances in the film as Antonio – he is hard-edged, testosterone-fuelled and doomed. Robert Downey Jr. is remarkably toned down as the grown-up Dito, delivering sparse lines and abandoning his usual colourful style of acting.

Together the four Queens teens harass girls, beat up rival gangs, shoplift and give attitude to on-lookers and this is undoubtedly when it feels the most like Spike Lee Lite. Saints patiently crafts tension at several points in the story, and it prefers climaxes to continuity as bad events snowball into criminal messes, deaths and the final abandonment by Dito. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is an interesting and compelling story, recreated with deft strokes by local Dito Montiel.

Sting and Trudi Styler loved the script so much they went to great lengths to support the production, and Chazz Palminteri delayed the shooting of another film of his with money out of his own pocket just to be able to play the bruised father in the film. These should serve as marks of its success and most of all the commitment with which its cast approached the film.

7.5 out of 10

A Guide to Recognizing YOURSELF...

[IRateFilms · 8/10 · 20 October 2006]

An authentically heartfelt, and truly inspiring film, by a first-time filmmaker, Recognizing Your Saints, bellows deep in the heart and soul of everyone that is privileged to see it. Written and directed by Dito Montiel, from his autobiographical novel of the same title, Recognizing Your Saints is a sincerely brave effort, by a shy and yet outspoken filmmaker. Rehashing his hellish childhood in 1980's Astoria, Queens, Montiel brings a brilliant cast together to portray the misery of the youth growing up around him at the time.

Starring Robert Downey Jr. as the adult version of Montiel and Shia LaBeouf as the angst teenager, there is an almost perfect synergy between the two portrayals of Montiel at two different spectrum's of his life. Being called back to a Queens that Montiel left with his life and the clothes on his back, he is called back to take his dying father to the hospital.

Questions of fatherly love and compassion are brought out throughout the film, only to be answered by the gently grim, unyielding hand of Montiel's father played by native New Yorker, Chaz Palmintieri. Comparisons to Mean Streets, Kids and Raising Victor Vargas can be made to this New York drama on the whole. But, every scene, individually is so undeniably real that Montiel's film surpasses its comparisons and resonates as an entirely different type of film.

This film, about a group of kids can be told anywhere and that is what is unique about it, that it does not limit itself to the city it subsequently takes place on. It was a great surprise after the screening of the film, to have a nice personal Q & A, with the director himself. Being a very shy man, Montiel answered a few questions about the characters in the film, and where they are now. He also explained how much he loved working with the young cast, and breaking the rules of film making, he did not know existed. Overall this is a great film, filled with amazing performances, no one should miss.

Not so engaging

[Gordon-11 · 7 June 2013]

This film is about the turbulent childhood of a writer who published his memoir of his days in a rough neighbourhood.

"A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" tells a depressing story where life is very tough for the residents of the neighbourhood. It is plagued by violence as the residents seem to have poor impulse control. Even though I like Channing Tatum and Shia LeBeouf, their characters (and all other characters) seem to wander around the neighbourhood looking for fights, making them rather unlikable characters.

With so much swearing and violence, it would be easy to think it is a gangster film. Of course, it is a personal film for the writer and director, hence the pacing is slow. Events in the film are bad, but they are not particularly cinematic, and not interesting for the big screen. I find the film boring and not engaging. The thing that bug me the most is that the film doesn't make any mention of any types of saints, either directly or metaphorically. I am disappointed by "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints", as it could have been an engaging and emotional drama with a very strong cast.

A Painfully Self-Conscious Movie/Montiel's Precious Reminisce of a Film

[jzappa · 6/10 · 11 October 2007]

Despite how emotionally charged and rawly personal the film feels, I could not help but think cynically almost the entire time. Becoming annoyed with myself, I began to wonder why, and I realized that it was because it is only one person's movie and nobody else's: the writer/ director Dito Montiel's. It is a self-congratulating piece of self-indulgent work from a self- obsessed filmmaker. The whole movie basks in Montiel's comfort with projecting his story like another angry, organic indie film about growing up in a quasi-criminal, wild, crowded environment in New York City, constant music, a subjective camera, as if it were this generation's Mean Streets. But it is a painfully self-conscious movie. It goes for accent on structure of story and style rather than the story itself, as we are made to pity and root for people not through the story's workings but the emotional door-banging of the film itself.

Montiel's precious reminisce of a film is one triumphant paradox. I felt aggravated by its preoccupation with itself, but those feelings were undercurrents as I was truly enthralled with the film. I did care about certain characters and I felt like jumping up and saying, "Bravo," for the performances given by Robert Downey, Jr. and Rosario Dawson, despite his spare screen time, as well as Shia LeBeouf, Chazz Palminteri, and Dianne Wiest. Montiel succeeds in ending the film in a way where we're shaking the residual effect for the rest of the day, and I'm not doubting that he has talent. If he'd realize that his compulsion with drawing attention to what kind of movie it is and how it is made is actually an obstruction in the way of his story, perhaps the way he wants his film to appear will happen more naturally.

Hard going...!

[mirelj · 7/10 · 23 February 2007]

I saw this film yesterday in Greenwich, London. The film was very dark and bleak in many places, the atmosphere in the cinema reflected this - people were concentrating on the film rather than talking amongst themselves which is surely a good thing.

The subject matter of the movie wasn't lighthearted in any way, and the director had chosen to use an enormous variety of narratives in order to tell the story - it required a lot of concentration to keep up with the constantly shifting styles. In other words, it was pretty hard going. But at the same time it was very realistic and showed the incredibly rough lifestyle that some children are simply born into, and their struggles to survive.

My only criticism is that whenever the film skips into the future, the adult actors look absolutely nothing like their younger teenage counterparts with only one exception; Laurie. This totally suspends the audience's belief in the film.

One of my favs of the year

[Henryhill51 · 9/10 · 27 October 2006]

First time director Dito Montiel's "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" is a harsh autobiographical look back at his youth on the mean streets of Astoria, Queens in the mid 1980's. From the film's opening moments, Montiel introduces us to an intimate world of family and friendship that totally blindsided me by its greatness. There are moments in "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" that roll along with such force and emotion, that Montiel feels like a natural born filmmaker, infusing his personal heartache into strong characters breathing within a vivid time and place. Montiel's handling of edits, sound, and music are also powerful, such as a scene in Dito's kitchen between his father and group of friends that explodes into stark images and quick cuts to black. Montiel also handles the return home of Downey Jr. with care and vulnerability, searching for small answers that come in revelatory conversations with his mother (Dianne Weist) and grown up girlfriend Dianne (played by Rosario Dawson). And while such personal material can be hard to translate without lapsing into melancholy, Montiel finds a way to craft a clear eyed version of his life, allowing strong acting and electric film-making to take over the balance of the experience. I love finding unheralded gems such as this. The name of Robert Downey Jr. brought me to the theater and I discovered a true talent in Dito Montiel who has crafted one of the finest directing debuts in several years

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS is a tough ride, but worth taking.

[screenwriter-14 · 6/10 · 8 October 2006]

Picture HALF NELSON meets SHERRY BABY and you end up in the same world as A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS with a cast of tremendous actors led by powerful performances from Robert Downey Jr., Chazz Palminteri and Dianne Wiest,along with stunning new actors led by the charismatic young actor, Channing Tatum, and the beautiful Rosario Dawson. The film is a bit of a tough ride at first, but once you connect with the anger of the characters and their journey, the audience is hooked into a film that is about recognizing friends and family who really care about you, and never leave you as the "Saints" we sometimes never recognize in our lives until perhaps it may be too late.

Dito Montiel has written and directed in SAINTS a story which is applicable across America today with angry young men and women who live in a hopeless morass of nothingness, but strive and dream of a better life beyond a Queens New York. The location reinforces the story and the characters needs, strengths, weaknesses and vulnerability. Dialog is also very strong and perfectly suits and embraces the characters desires and struggles. SAINTS makes you realize "where you came from, and where you are heading in life".

Powerful and heartfelt look at an often violent past

[u2jubilee2000 · 10/10 · 29 August 2006]

I recently saw a screening of "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" without any prior knowledge of the subject matter or cast, which I am beginning to believe might be the best idea before seeing many of the smaller films out there. Reminiscent of "Goodfellas" and "Kids," a gritty coming-of-age story that packs a powerful punch with star Shia LaBeouf delivering a heart- breaking performance. This film is not to be missed and should be a strong contender come awards season. Director and writer Dito Montiel obviously draws from the likes of Martin Scorsese as he paints Queens, New York in a light only familiar to those who grew up deep in the heart of it. "Saints" elicits both tears and laughter, often within moments of each other while keeping the audience on the edge of their seats the entire time. Topping off this walk down memory lane, Montiel incorporates a stellar soundtrack mostly from the 70's, which feels right even though most of the story takes place in the mid 80's.

Interesting film-making, great acting, OK storyline

[speteman · 7/10 · 11 March 2007]

What I enjoyed most about the movie was the interesting ways in which the director edited the film. It seemed that every 10 minutes or so, the viewer was treated to yet another new way to tell a story. The result was an often choppy pace, but it was done in a way that was very engaging and was easy to follow.

The acting was superb by all, and you felt genuine bonds between the unique characters. My only complaint here was that Robert Downey Jr. didn't seem to fit his part, though he acted well. It was a relatively minor role so didn't have an overall impact on the film.

I have never been to New York, but the movie was very insightful as to what it was like growing up there, both on the streets and at home.

An enjoyable movie that is fun to watch.

High on its own fumes, and full of nothing

[MarleyMilk · 1/10 · 2 September 2007]

Boring, contrived, messy. These are just some of the words that describe how awful this film is.

Dianne Wiest is too good for this rubbish. Robert Downy Jr, (as the adult Dito), is unconvincing - his presence is more of a distraction than anything else. Channing Tatum, (as the young bad boy Antonio), is over the top and ridiculous. Shia Labeouf, (as the young Dito), is completely wasted - the story should have stayed in the past and focused on him. The rest of the cast is forgettable.

The flashing forward and back, between the past and the present, is a distraction. This is down to the fact that the present day cast/story is weak and uninteresting.

This film is not "raw", it captures no great "mood", it doesn't say anything that hasn't already been said, (and better). It's just a disappointing mess.

Powerful and affecting... amazing debut

[cuchelo1 · 8/10 · 29 August 2006]

I liked the direction and acting better than the screenplay, although Dito Montiel has written a very moving story. His use of different styles and techniques- most of which came from him just experimenting or not really knowing what "to do"- are at first somewhat jarring, but grow to fit the fractured lives of his characters perfectly. This movie is not for everybody, but should be seen by anyone who is despairing of the state of American Independent movies. And the cast- truly brilliant. Pros like Dianne Weist (she can truly do no wrong, and her character would be so weak in a lesser actor's hands) and Chazz Palminteri are mixed with relative newcomers and complete unknowns that Montiel picked up in casting sessions out in Queens. For me, the whole movie was worth seeing Channing Tatum, however. He is heartbreaking and scary and full of explosive energy. The screen can barely contain him. One of the best movies I've seen in quite awhile.

A Lot Of Story About Nothing

[fwomp · 7/10 · 13 March 2007]

All character and little substance, A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS is saved from film depravity by some stellar performances within the fairly pedestrian life-story of Dito Montiel, a kid growing up in a rough-and-tumble Queens suburb during the 1980s.

Based on the memoir-cum-vignettes novel by the same name (written by Dito, who also directed and wrote the screenplay), the movie's premise surrounds Dito (Robert Downey Jr., GOOD NIGHT, AND GOOD LUCK) as a young wannabe ruffian dealing with an overbearing father, a distant mother, and four friends destined for things much worse than mediocrity. Living in New York, Dito finds himself inserted into a life which he desperately wants out of. This comes full-on into focus when a new student at his school named Mike O'Shea (Martin Compston) begins talking about leaving the city for California.

Dito constantly sees his life slipping into the Queens rut, a life that promises either a worthless job with a girl not of his ethnicity (prejudice rears its ugly head often in the film's dialogue), or into a life of street gang membership, or a life in prison, or — worse — death. Most of these dangers lurk around his best friend Antonio (Channing Tatum), whom Dito's father Monty (played brilliantly by the usually typecast mobster, Chazz Palminteri, HOODWINKED!) views as the epitome of what his son should be: a tough kid who's dedicated to his family and his neighborhood.

The film begins and ends with Dito (Downey Jr.) talking to an audience about his novel, A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints. In between we get to witness what transpired in Dito's life to make him want to write about his experiences in Queens. Shia LaBeouf (THE GREATEST GAME EVER PLAYED) plays the adolescent Dito and does so in fine fashion, making the audience cheer when he finally comes out to his father about his desire to leave The City, and cringing when he returns and we learn that his saints have all been left behind in various stages of inadequacy (Antonio remains in prison, while Nerf still lives with his mother and drinks like a fish).

The most impressive part of the film is that the characters are all portrayed exceptionally well. Chazz Palminteri gives one of the best performances of his life as a humble Queens resident with epilepsy. When he and his son get into one of their final battles, it's both heart-wrenching and frightening. We feel Chazz's character's need to keep his son nearby, but also understand Dito's life necessity to get away no matter what the cost.

It is a poignant irony that Dito returns to Queens in order to see his ailing father and to face up to his abandonment of his parents, his friends, and his hometown. The dichotomy between what he had to give up to become successful and his desire to both stay away from it and yet return to it is this movie's greatest strength.

But if the characters were the positive, the story itself was rather lackadaisical. There are punctuating moments of intensity (Antonio with a baseball bat and Mike O'Shea's terrible end both come to mind), but the overlapping dialogue, depressing sets, and overall screenplay were seriously wanting. Even so, the awesome performances by all of the cast members pull this story up by its sagging bootstraps and give it a positive rating.

Don't be Fooled by the Flattering Reviews....

[MIDDLEMYATT · 3/10 · 22 June 2007]

Most of the reviewers must be homesick New Yorkers, nostalgically longing for the "good ol' days." If you're looking for a fresh and original NY coming-of-age tale, you should avoid this film. You've seen it all before, done more effectively, with less gimmick, more focus and less heavy-handed attempts at coming off hip/stylish in its direction. It seems to have very little regard for its subjects; they're simply drawn as rejects from a Scorsese film. Clearly the writer has very little regard for the folks he left behind in his depressing little racist, heated, overly-sexed neighborhood. All the major talent is wasted (Palminteri, Dawson, Wiest, Downey), and the story is so predictable that, like me, you may be fooled into staying tuned in anticipation of a new twist that would justify the story being told, the film being made. Also, I ain't no prude, but I am insulted when a film attempts to supplement its many deficiencies with too many F-words, graphic and gratuitous sex references, and casual racial slurs. Overall, the film is loud, overbearing and offensive. An old story, told in an annoying way. Guaranteed to leave a bad taste in your mouth. Rent Mean Streets, A Bronx Tale, or even The Basketball Diaries instead.

Tears were rolling down my face

[buzzbruin · 3 October 2006]

I knew virtually nothing about this film going in. It started with kids using the "F" word every other word--as warned in the rating. My wife hates profanity unless it is not a substitute for good dialogue. Of the cast members I only knew Leboeuf Palminteri Rosario Dawson and Diane Wiest--no matter EVERYONE in this cast right down to the cameo was truly magnificent. Now, I'm an emotional guy, I admit but there was one scene between Mother and son that blew me away. I mean hot wet tears werestreaming down my grizzeld face. The editing, the dialogue, the casting the photography--all were SUPERB. this movie knocked to my knees with an impact that was shattering, The ability of this artist to write and direct aretruly amazing--if he never makes another piece of art, he has done something for which he will be praised. I don't want to discuss the plot, but let me just say if you want to see an artist at work, spinning a web about the relationships between human beings then go see this picture--in fact I BEG you to see it! You will be rewarded beyond measure.

I'm a f*cking piece of sh*t. That's what I am.

[lastliberal · 7/10 · 8 July 2007]

How many movies have we watched about New York natives? Most of us have seen Little Italy in Martin Scorsese's "Mean Streets." Spike Lee's "Summer of Sam" shows us the South Bronx. There is the disturbing "Kids" and "The Basketball Diaries," among others.

Dito Montiel's first film, written and directed by him from his book, shows us Queens in the 80s.

I do not have a thing for New York. I watched the movie to see more of Shia LaBeouf, who plays Dito as a teen. Robert Downey, Jr. picks up the character as an adult.

I also watched for the brief glimpse of Rosario Dawson, who plays his girlfriend, Laurie, as an adult. Melonie Diaz is Laurie as a teen.

Is it as good as the billing? After all, it did gather five wins and another seven nominations at various film festivals.

I haven't made up my mind completely. LaBeouf was great, I always love seeing Rosario Dawson, Downey seemed flat - without emotion. I guess you had to be there, and I wasn't.

Underrated

[papanloveu · 6/10 · 1 January 2022]

I was really impressed with this movie. It is a story of love , understanding and how one can live their life not realizing how much people care about them. Robert Downey Jr. Nails his role in playing the older dito and Shia lebouf plays the younger dito like a true actor. The direction of this movie also very good . Especially for a first movie from director , Dito Montel he manages to produce so many feelings in a viewer ; Feeling of regret, love, forgiveness, and laughter . This is a great movie.

One of the True Sleepers of the Year

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 27 February 2007]

A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS may not be on everyone's list of great films of 2006 but it most assuredly should be. In a time when the bulk of films that come across the marquis are empty headed fluff (with of course notable exceptions), little films like this autobiographical coming of age story in Queens in the 1980s by the accomplished yet very humble Dito Montiel make an initial impact on the viewer, then hang around the psyche with memories of cinematic moments as well as fresh looks at our own lives like few other films can achieve.

Dito Montiel wrote his memoir, adapted it for the screen and directed it, each step being a first one for this very talented young man. His story on the surface is simple: a childhood and coming of age of Dito and his friends as they face the crime and drugs and love affairs and deaths of living in the line of poverty. Dito (an astonishingly fine Shia LaBeouf) has a cadre of friends that include Scottish Mike (Martin Compston), crazy Nerf (Peter Anthony Tambakis), firebrand Antonio (Channing Tatum in yet another fiery and sensitive performance), Antonio's unfortunate brother Giuseppe (Adam Scarimbolo), and girls Laurie (Melonie Diaz) and Diane (Julia Garro). The boys face gang trouble with the Puerto Rican gang Reapers, parental abuse as in Antonio's father (Federico Castelluccio), parental love as with Dito's parents Monty (Chazz Palminteri) and Flori (Dianne Wiest).

As their world in Queens comes tumbling down with tragic consequences Dito decides to leave for California. And leave he does, not returning for twenty years to the place where he successfully survived a childhood due to the 'saints' he didn't recognize until the father with whom he has not communicated in the interim has reached his end. The past and the present are woven together throughout the film with the flash forward, flash back sequences: the older successful writer Dito is played by Robert Downey, Jr.; Antonio (imprisoned for his beating death of the head of the Reapers) is Eric Roberts; Laurie now married is Rosario Dawson; Nerf now is Scott Michael Campbell: and Dito's parents remain makeup-aged Palminteri and Wiest. It is this blend of the past as revealed by the present that makes Montiel's film work so well. They manner in which he creates the magic of near extemporaneous speech with this amazing cast creates a sense of grit, verismo, and profound love and loss. Conversations such as the ones between little Dito and Monty, between the mature Dito and Flori and Lauri and Antonio - all are minor miracles of writing and acting. Montiel may be a first time director but he has drawn some of the finest work ever from Palminteri, Wiest, Downey, Dawson, Tatum, Roberts and LaBoeuf.

For those who have read Montiel's book by the same name, the time Dito spent in East Village and his fame as a Calvin Klein underwear model will seem painfully missing. But Montiel has extracted the essence of a boy growing out of his environment with the help of his unknown saints, condensed the action, and told the story in a magical way - a way that is sure to drive into the gut and heart of every sensitive viewer. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp

Invigorating coming-of-age debut

[oneloveall · 7/10 · 15 February 2007]

First time writer/director Dito Montiel arrives a tremendous force, proving himself artistically adept with the critically acclaimed adaptation of his autobiographical book detailing a tense upbringing in Astoria, New York in the 1980's. Splicing heartfelt flashbacks that Montiel remembers with bitter fondness about growing up in a rough neighborhood with the modern-day predicament of returning home to see his family with an uncanny first time precision, A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints just might have been last year's sleeper hit. With pitch-perfect admiration, the film embraces a range of natural and deep (even in their stereotypical underpinnings) character types in all of their graphic ugliness, at times playing out like a more genuine and retro version of the vacant "Kids".

Any conservatives turned off by the gritty, hands-on approach these young actors are engaged in however, will likely miss the underlying integrity the lies dormant in nearly every foul-mouthed utterance that is heard. Casting here could not be better, it is refreshing and reassuring to see stars young and old line up to be a part of a nameless project, simply because the material is so resonant. The focus does tend to concentrate on Dito's younger years, perhaps to a fault of relaying his older ones, and the drama can feel slightly forced at times, but by and large the movie shines through with a prideful authenticity, shown not only through the perceptive direction but the surprisingly adept performances.

Raw, Gritty, and Stunning.

[surferchicky92 · 9/10 · 8 January 2007]

I was lucky enough to catch the last showing of "A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" at my local theater, and man, was I surprised. I haven't seen a film with such an accurate and heart wrenching portraits of troubled youths since "Kids".

"A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" gives us a glimpse into the life of Dito Montiel (Shia Labouf, with Robert Downey Jr. as the older version) growing up on the streets of Astoria, Queens in 1986. When he leaves for California, he leaves behind his best friend and resident tough guy Antonio (Channing Tatum, with Eric Roberts playing the older version), his caring mother (Diane Wiest) and tough love father (Chazz Palminteri), his girlfriend Laurie (Melonie Diaz, with Rosario Dawson as the older version), and pretty much everyone else he knew.

First time director Dito Montiel does a stellar job of establishing characters and their relationships. He also does a great job directing scenes that seem so real (thnks to some superb acting by the cast), it almost seems like a documentary. A huge round of applause goes to the cast for their performances.

The ending wasn't really cohesive with the script. I didn't leave knowing what happened with Dito and his family and friends. Other than that, there's not a single bad moment.

"A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints" is raw, gritty, and stunning. There's not a single disappointing scene in the movie.

9.5/10

Meant to be heart-wrenching and violent and honest, and it is...Queens 1985 or so...

[secondtake · 7/10 · 12 August 2010]

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)

The premise of the movie is a total slice of life in a changing ethnic neighborhood in Queens, mostly with conflict between Puerto Rican and Italian immigrant families and their kids. It's often raw, violent, sexual, and depraved. It's also laced with beauty, has real family loyalty, and is a picture of survival. It portrays in particular one family and the conflicts in it with particular urgency.

Overall, the movie is highly realistic. It pulls only a couple punches (a little boy gets beaten up on the street and it isn't shown). But all the other violence, the sex, the near rapes (depending on how you look at it), the anger and the misunderstood anger, all of it is wearing. I have to say I didn't enjoy a lot of it just because it was so unpleasant. Even when the light glowed and the train glided overhead on the El and a family was being peaceful and loving, there was an underlying anxiety and ominousness that made watching it an uneasy process.

This might be a sign of a great film, or a good one. I don't want to disagree with those that find this mise-en-scene enough. There is a feeling of meandering plot, or no plot at all, through most of it. If other movies that try to address the problems and reality of the hood are more readable (Spike Lee has a couple, or Larry Clark's Kids, as starters), this one has the benefit of not being pigeon-holed. It's just a ride through the times, a snapshot, sincere and feeling.

Robert Downey Jr. is a small presence, actually, and doesn't always fit in quite right, and in fact the peaceful quality of his portions of the film are easily mistaken for the most boring. Dianne Wiest is a fabulous actress but she seems miscast--though the director ought to know who represented his mother best. The whole movie is based on the real life of the director, Dito Montiel, and it has an authentic feel, though Wikipedia makes clear it's full of mistakes for a movie set in the mid 1980s. Not that it really matters. It's the energy of the youth that gives it its recklessness, which is what its all about. Forget about making sense of it. It's just the real deal on some level, and convincing enough to be artful. The filming, and editing, make up for a lot of the lack of narrative sense. It's not about sense, it's about being there, it's about the experience of traveling through the scenes.

Just how many times can we sit through this same, tired story?

[zetes · 3/10 · 5 March 2007]

Insufferable. Sure, it's autobiographical, but when your autobiography just reiterates the same story that we've seen in the movie theaters seven dozen times since Martin Scorsese made Mean Streets, why bother telling it? The movie is about a young Italian man growing up in a tough New York neighborhood (this time in Queens, but just as often in Brooklyn or the Bronx – they seem pretty interchangeable in these movies) who hangs out with his stupid but lovable friends and deals with his strict but loving father (played here by Chazz Palminteri, big surprise) and secretly wishes to get out of this hellhole. The tiny kernel that propels the story is a rival group of friends, here black, no surprise, that is challenging the Italians' dominance. Blah blah blah. Christ. We also have part of the story taking place in present time, with a miscast and totally wasted Robert Downey Jr. playing the protagonist and trying to get his sick father, who has renounced his son, to go to the hospital. Blah blah blah. The film is a complete waste of talent and time. One of the worst of '06.

<3

[Clemhop · 10/10 · 27 November 2006]

My favorite movie of the year, thus far. While it might not leave any long-lasting impact on society or even win an Academy Award, it is one of the most impressive character-driven films that I have ever seen. Granted, there are a number of films in the same "coming of age" genre and some have done an even better job than this one, but such are rare and have probably come once in a generation. This one is ours.

Set in Brooklyn, New York, the story is about one man, Dito (Robert Downey Jr.), reflecting on his adolescence (Shia LeBouf) through a personal memoir. It continuously shifts between past and present as one moment we see an adult Dito paying a visit to his old neighborhood and the next we are in that very same place during his younger years with his friends, a group of rough teens with nothing better to do than cause trouble for everyone around them. It strikes at you emotionally, as you grow to like each of the characters only to see the majority of their lives worsen with every scene. It is a depressing movie.

It has the darker 80's feel to it. Like "The Warriors" kind of a backdrop. Grimy. I like those stupid old movies a lot, so this was just perfect.

I don't want to give anything away, because I don't want to ruin such a good movie for anyone that might want to see it. It originally came out for the Sundance Film Festival and was finally released in Washington nearly six months later. As far as I know, it's only playing at Lincoln Square, but without a doubt it's worth the trip and the extra dollar or so.

Ill-remembered youth

[paul2001sw-1 · 7/10 · 23 September 2008]

Dito Montiel's semi-autobiographical film about growing up in the rough New York neighbourhood of Astoria is interestingly constructed, catching the flavour of remembered youth with a mixture of sentiment and revulsion. For those of us who have been unfortunate enough to see 'Transformers', the film offers the surprise discovery that Shia La Beouf can act; Chazz Palminteri, a mainstay of films of this sort, here resembles Richard Nixon, while there's also an authentic Glaswegian in the cast. The movie isn't bad, but watching it mostly made me glad of my own safe, middle-class upbringing, far away from the city's mean streets.

RE: Flat out Stupid.

[FosseFilmGuy · 3/10 · 14 March 2007]

I don't get it. We're supposed to LIKE these losers? There wasn't one likable person in this movie. It made Astoria look like a slum with garbage all over the place and hoodlums on every corner! Antonio brutally beats up a little boy and laughs about it in a deleted scene when he sees the eight year old boy has a large bandage covering his eye. Absolutely terrible. Am I supposed to feel sorry that Giuseppe the psycho got run over by a train? That Antonio wound up doing life in prison? Good riddance! I hope Antonio got his ass kicked every day in prison! In closing, if you're going to make a movie about scum, can't you at least show the positive side a little bit? Of course not; it has to be like, "Mean Streets" or "Goodfellas". God forbid they try to be ORIGINAL. Skip this piece of crap. The best part was when it was over.