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USA, 2008, 100 Mins Directed by SEAN BAKER | ||
PRINCE OF BROADWAY, winner of the Jury Prize for Best Dramatic Feature at both the 2008 Los Angeles and Woodstock Film Festivals, opens, or rather erupts, with the sights, sounds, and energy of that special no-man's-land in lower Manhattan full of counterfeit fashions, discount fragrances, and cheesy T-shirts. At the heart of the action is Lucky, an illegal immigrant from Ghana, who hustles stolen goods for Levon, an Armenian-Lebanese shop owner. Long on charisma but short on responsibility, Lucky lives a carefree existence. Carefree, that is, until his fiery Latina ex-girlfriend shows up with a surprise--a toddler that she claims belongs to Lucky. The young mother demands that Lucky take care of the kid for a while and she takes off, leaving the child in the care of a man entirely unprepared for the role of father. How will he cope? This richly layered film, an Independent Spirit Award nominee, immerses the viewer in a world that is so full of flavor you can almost taste it.
