Sin #66: Third World Poverty

For millions of people in Mexico, poverty is synonymous with way of life; after all, over 20 percent of the country lives in extreme poverty and many are forced to abandon country life for a job in the city with terrible wages. As an alternative they will immigrate to the United States to work as illegal aliens in fast-food chains or janitors for big corporations. It’s a sad state of affairs, but society’s pyramidal structure and capitalist system prevents the government from giving the poor a more worthy lifestyle and an education, since it doesn’t favor the rich minority who control most of the country’s resources.

A couple of years ago, Danny Boyle released “Slumdog Millionaire”, a film that garnered world-wide acclaim and even went to win several Oscars including best picture. The movie might be a feel-good fantasy about a boy that goes from rags to riches but its greatest asset is in its portrayal of poverty in Mumbai. The earlier passages echo “Oliver Twist” in the journey of a boy living in the brutal streets try to survive along with his brother and Boyle’s vibrant vision makes the setting realistic while avoiding the romanticized view we often see in these types of stories (although the movie’s heart is essentially romantic).

The authenticity of the movie is also reflected in the casting process as the children portrayed aren’t professional actors and their real life draws parallels from their characters. There was actually a controversy a while back about their lifestyle after the shooting wrapped, with some claiming they were exploited and were still living in poverty (there were some bizarre rumors about Rubina Ali’s father trying to sell her, she plays young Latika in the film).

While many people applauded “Slumdog Millionaire” (I liked it quite a bit) I wish most of them would notice another movie released the same year called “Chop Shop”, directed by Ramin Bahrani. “Chop” is an American independent production that doesn’t deal with formulas or happy endings but merely observes an immigrant boy living in America and trying to survive while he takes care of his sister.

The most shocking aspect of the film is its location in New York, since it isn’t the same New York we often see in Woody Allen or Martin Scorsese movies because it almost feels like a third world country slum. The morality lines begin to fizzle in this setting and we realize that sometimes one finds shelter in illegal activities. “Chop Shop” might be slow for some but it is a riveting slice-of-life work of cinema that delivers a startling reality.

In many ways Bahrani’s film reminded me of “Los Olvidados” (its English title is “The Young and the Damned”), one of Luis Buñuel’s best films. In it we meet several boys living in the slums of Mexico City during the fifties. “Los Olvidados” had a rather controversial opening in Mexico as the movie was deemed to be brutal and unapologetic in its depiction of poverty. Buñuel’s vision was pretty hard to embrace in this country although the film got plenty of acclaim in other places (Buñuel has never been shy to controversy, especially with the shocking “Un Chien Andalou”, a short film in which he collaborated with the great Salvador Dali. It is said they put stones in their pockets in case the audiences attacked them).

While poverty is still a huge problematic pretty much everywhere, these films do a good job in not letting us forget those who need a hand the most. They’re the kind of films that change our views and can potentially make a difference.