One man's TRASH is another man's treasure... but not this man's
Three charming young trash-picking orphan boys stumble upon a wallet in the garbage dumps of Rio de Janeiro — that’s in Brazil if you didn’t know (South America). To their good fortune, the wallet contains wads of cash, but when a much larger reward is offered for the return of said wallet, the boys soon realize that it contains something much more valuable than mere money, and they ultimately decide not to turn in the wallet. A decision which leads them on an adventure into the dark underworld of betrayal, scandal, intrigue, murder, political corruption, etc.
Trash is almost certain to evoke fond memories of 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire — that with its feel-good vibe set against the backdrop of slum life in a foreign land, but directed by an English director (Stephen Daldry of Billy Elliot fame) and no doubt made primarily for English-speaking audiences, with big-name American actors thrown in for good measure (Martin Sheen and Rooney Mara play orphanage workers), with half the dialogue in their native gibberish and half in English, so viewers don’t have to struggle with subtitles for (God forbid) a whole 90+ minutes — and 2002’s City of God, neither of which it lives up to. The big question is, if this were nominated for an Oscar, would it be in the foreign film category? It’s a moot point, of course, as Trash is Stephen Daldry’s first and only film to date not to be nominated for Best Picture and/or Best Director, and there’s a reason for that: I won’t say it sucks, ’cause that’s a bit harsh, but it simply isn’t good. The climax is over-the-top unrealistic and I just couldn’t buy the idea that these poor, uneducated trash-pickers would risk their lives, not for money, but because “it’s the right thing to do.” I dunno, maybe the book was better (oh yeah, it’s based on a novel by a guy called Andy Mulligan).
In addition to the aforementioned American actors, whom I’m sure most of you are already familiar with, I was also pleasantly surprised to see the familiar faces of a few local Brazilian talents, namely Wagner Moura of Elite Squad, Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within, and more recently the Netflix original series Narcos; and Leandro Firmino of the aforementioned City of God (or rather the guy who ate Leandro Firmino [He appears to have gained more than a few pounds since his big screen debut some twelve years ago]), albeit in a small role. The three leading men—er, boys—are played by Brazilian newcomers Rickson Tevez, Eduardo Luis and Gabriel Weinstein, respectively, who give moving performances, given their lack of previous acting experience—a high point in this otherwise extremely mediocre movie.
I caught this one in its initial European release earlier this year during my recent travels abroad. It hits theaters stateside October 9—I’m guessing a limited release.
