A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

This strikingly strong debut fits in the list of coming-of-age films such as Mean Streets, Kids and Saturday Night Fever, all set in harsh urban surroundings. A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is situated in Astoria, Queens, an area that was a rough working-class neighbourhood in New York City at the time.
After being away for nearly 20 years, Dito (played by Robert Downey Jr), now a successful writer in LA, returns to the area where he grew up to visit his severely ill father one more time. There he is confronted with the people he left behind. They are the ‘saints’ from the title. In flashback we see the young Dito and his friends in the streets of Queens, his first true love and the difficult relationship with his father.
Dito Montiel based his debut film on his book of the same name, which comprises many autobiographical elements although Montiel stresses that he included many fictional elements. As a self-taught man, he set to work with great courage and passion. Not hindered by much basic knowledge of film, he used unconventional style elements: actors talk to the camera and voiceovers are used inventively. The film has already won various prizes at Sundance and Venice, including ones for the strong cast. (LC)