7 BOXES
May 23-29, 2014
Vancity Theatre
7 Boxes is a rollicking good time at the movies that offers breathtaking action and suspense, humor and appealing characters all in one visually flashy package.” — Boyd van Hoelj, Indiewire
Director: Juan Carlos Maneglia, Tana Schémbori
Cast: Celso Franco, Víctor Sosa, Lali González, Nico García, Paletita, Manuel Portillo
(Paraguay, 2012, 100 min.)
Spanish with English subtitles
Related Links: Website & Trailer | BUY TICKETS
17-year-old Victor grubs out a living with his wheelbarrow, delivering produce at a city market in Paraguay’s capital, Asunción. He can scarcely believe his eyes when he’s handed half a C-note to babysit 7 boxes for a few hours (he gets the other half when the job is done). Of course it doesn’t take long before he wonders what his cargo might be, especially when the cops pile in.
Directing team Juan Carlos Maneglia and Tana Schembori put half a dozen characters at cross-purposes and send them careening through the maze-like market mostly on foot, often pushing a wheelbarrow before them. A hit at the Toronto International Film Festival, 7 Boxes is a winning combination of slumdog neo-realism and larky thriller, delivered with a dynamic panache that makes a virtue of the filmmakers’ minimal resources. It’s an indie calling-card movie, South American style: raw, energetic, and confident. More surprisingly, it also does enough to make you care about the characters.
7 Boxes has something for everybody” — Chris Knight, National Post
Crackles with the desperate energy of forced innovation” — Jeannette Catsoulis, New York Times
Screening Information:
Friday, May 23, 8:15pm
Saturday, May 24, 5:00pm
Sunday, May 25, 6:00pm
Thursday, May 29, 8:15pm