What's so wonderful about director Peter Sollett's assured debut feature is the authentic way he captures what it's like to be young.
Comment
04/18/03
Raising Victor Vargas (2003)
96
%
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:104
Fresh:100
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.9/10
Consensus: A coming-of-age tale marked by its authenticity.
Runtime: 88 mins
Genre: Dramas
Synopsis: Manhattan's gritty, majestic Lower East Side is the sweltering romantic playground for Victor Vargas (VICTOR RASUK), a self-styled teenaged Casanova who, despite his adolescent hubris, has a lot to... [More]
Starring: Victor Rasuk, Judy Marte, Melonie Diaz, Altagracia Guzman
Director: Peter Sollett
Reviews for Raising Victor Vargas
Contains some of the most loose-limbed, realistic dialogue ever uttered in a film about teenagers.
04/17/03
Both intimate and universal, the film ripples with little human moments we've all lived, whether or not we were raised on Manhattan's poor Lower East Side.
04/17/03
His film may be something of a beautiful lie, but what's true about Sollett's characters is that their dreams, their grace and their struggles are as real as it gets.
04/17/03
Top CriticIt's the authenticity of the characters, and the skill of the largely nonprofessional cast at letting them come alive, that make the movie such a dazzler.
04/17/03
Raising Victor Vargas gets everything just right.
04/14/03
At once sympathetic and unsentimental, this is a model of low-budget storytelling on a human scale.
04/10/03
The writer-director, Peter Sollett, cast the film with kids from his own neighborhood, who give themselves over to the camera with a spirit of improvised play that morphs into vivid, layered acting.
04/09/03
A modest and tightly focused picture, and its very directness makes it piercingly intimate.
04/02/03
A comedy in the best sense -- it draws its life from the pitch-perfect authenticity of its characters.
03/30/03
Getting terrific performances from his nonprofessional cast, writer-director Peter Sollett has created an affecting, honest and humorous portrait of adolescence.
03/28/03
Top CriticWhat lifts Sollett's film above the run-of-the-mill boy-meets-girl tale is its genuine sweetness and Sollett's ability to effect a striking authenticity.
03/28/03
Features strong performances, but inadequate writing and directorial preparation leave it dramatically stagnant.
03/28/03
With a casual brilliance reminiscent of the young Truffaut, writer-director Peter Sollett expanded his award-winning short 'Five Feet High and Rising' into one of the most welcome debut features in ages.
03/27/03
These teens are not off-putting nor rude and crude, as so many movies like to make teens out to be. They are human ... the movie gives much respect to the intelligence they have inside.
03/27/03
Victor and Judy are so appealing and realistic in their lead roles that you'll swear you're watching a documentary.
03/27/03
Mr. Sollett's accomplishment is the film's matter-of-fact solidity; he makes you wonder what his creations are doing when they're off screen.
03/26/03
Top CriticTender and funny.
03/25/03
There is so much going on in this movie: first-love, painful adolescent moments, family drama [and comedy], -- and every aspect of it works.
03/24/03
The movie's themes are communicated visually and with quiet immediacy.
03/24/03
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