Side Streets
USA 1998
Reviewed by Mike Higgins
Synopsis
Our synopses give away the plot in full, including surprise twists.
New York. Over 24 hot summer hours, the lives of five struggling immigrants are portrayed. The Italian Sylvie, a fashion designer, has one client who is broke. An evening with a Japanese buyer concludes disastrously. Taxi driver Bipin Raj's family are weary of their demanding houseguest Vikram, Bipin's brother and a former Bollywood idol. Vikram leaves on the false pretence of an appointment with Al Pacino and books into a fine hotel. West Indian Errol has sold his wife Brenda's heirloom to buy a Cadillac which he then accidentally destroys. Two butcher boys - Romanian Josif and Puerto Rican Ramon - set up a blackmarket deal to buy their girlfriends a house and a dress respectively, but the deal goes wrong. A bet pays off for Josif. Ramon gives his girlfriend Marisol a stolen dress. In the middle of the night a storm breaks. Bipin learns Vikram has died. Errol and Brenda and the remaining couples are reconciled.
Review
Throughout Tony Gerber's feature debut, everyone is trying to escape the city heat. Stifled by New York City's oppressive summer fug, the objects the characters desire - a family house, a Cadillac - prove as elusive as a breath of cool, fresh air. There's even a scene in which butcher Josif literally buckles under the burden of a discarded air-conditioning unit he's found. It's a concise motif, but sadly one which Gerber chooses not to place in any material context. Instead, he fashions each of the parallel storylines into a wistful fable. Since there's no social or political engagement nor much depth given to any of Side Streets' characters, potentially decisive incidents like Josif's colleague Ramon's violent run-in with black-marketeers have a negligible dramatic impact. The film also refers only fitfully to its geographic milieu: washed-up actor Vikram is the only character to gawp at the Manhattan skyline, but this at least rings true. It's hard to take in the view with your nose to the grindstone.
The culturally diverse tapestry of immigrant life proposed by the script looks pretty threadbare in places, too. Except with Ramon's girlfriend Marisol's mondongo (tripe stew), very few of the characters evince an ethnic heritage. Nevertheless, fading Bollywood legend Vikram provides a welcome Old-World perspective in contrast with his brother Bipin Raj's strained, assimilated home. Though Gerber and his wife, playwright Lynn Nottage, share writing credits, it seems apposite to point out here that Ismail Merchant executive-produced this film. Correspondingly, Art Malik, Shabana Azmi and Shashi Kapoor perform with a conviction absent in the rest of the cast.
With the Raj family the film most closely (but not quite) achieves the comic mode it claims to be aiming for. Elsewhere the denouements of the stories follow archetypal, not to say tedious, trajectories. The film feels very long at well over two hours. With the discovery that Sylvie is making the dress Ramon has promised Marisol, there's a belated attempt at narrative interplay. And long before the cathartic cloudburst, the screenplay transmits its inevitable conclusion with all the subtlety of a weather forecast.
Credits
- Producers
- Bruce Weiss
- Screenplay
- Lynn Nottage
- Tony Gerber
- Director of Photography
- Russell Lee Fine
- Editor
- Kate Williams
- Production Designer
- Stephen McCabe
- Music
- Evan Lurie
- ©Side Street Productions
- Production Companies
- A Merchant Ivory & Cornerstone Films production
- Executive Producers
- Ismail Merchant
- Tom Borders
- Gregory Cascante
- Producers
- WCBS News Segments:
- Lou Giserman
- Tony Gatto
- Irina Lallemand
- Yesenaia Torries
- Co-producer
- Victoria McGarry Lorino
- Associate Producers
- Kim Moarefi
- Julianne Hausler
- Production Co-ordinator
- Libby Richman
- Production Manager
- William Perkins
- Location Managers
- Lynn H. Powers
- Damon Gordon
- Post-production Supervisor
- Howard Gertler
- Assistant Directors
- David Wechsler
- Rich Greenberg
- Marco Londoner
- Dena Gittelman
- Aida Rodgers
- Additional:
- Jolyon Handler
- Amanda Slater
- 2nd Unit:
- William Keys
- Script Supervisor
- Catherine Gore
- Casting
- Director:
- Ellen Parks
- Associate:
- Rebecca Brooke
- Special Effects Co-ordinator
- Drew Jiritano
- Associate Editor
- Victoria Plummer
- On-line Editors
- Edith E. Newman
- Ramen Cromwell
- Set Decorator
- Paul Cheponis
- Floral Designer
- Wendy Goidell
- Costume Designer
- Kasia Walicka Maimone
- Wardrobe Supervisor
- Danita Knight
- Special Costume Construction
- Cara Czekanski
- Key Hair/Make-up
- Mia Thoen
- Title Design
- Colombo Construction
- Title Sequence Editor
- Jon Kane
- Title Sequence Photography
- Russell Lee Fine
- Title Photography
- Robert Lyons
- Score Musicians
- Flute:
- Steve Elson
- Violin:
- Jill Jaffe
- Accordion:
- Walter Kuhr
- Bass/Mando-Bass:
- Tony Scherr
- Percussion:
- Mauro Refosco
- Udo Drum:
- Jeffrey Berman
- Music Supervisor
- Tracy McKnight
- Music Co-ordinator
- Linda Cohen
- Music Editor
- Tom Efinger
- Score Recordist
- Joe Ferla
- Soundtrack
- "Wild Jungle" by Mario Baura, Rene Hernandez, performed by Machito and His Afro Cuban Ensemble; "Chan Chal Sheetal Nirmal Komal" by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Anand Bakshi, performed by Mukesh; "Yashomati Maiya Se Bole Nandalala" by Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Pt. Narendra Sharma, performed by Lata Mangeshkar; "Japonesa" by Anibal Tito Rivera, performed by Grupo TNT Mix; "Trece Timpul" by/performed by Irina Loghin; "Long Song for Zelda" by/performed by Dashiell Hedayat; "Jockin' Ya Waist", "Six Million Ways to Wine" by Anthony Bailey, performed by Krosfyah; "Turf Invaders" by/performed by Tom Efinger; "Cantec pentru Copilul Meu" (trad), lyrics/performed by Corina Chiriac; "Dub Farmer" by Henry James, performed by Peter Broggs; "La La La" by Mike Kandel, performed by Tranquility Bass; "Ultimate Party", "Crank It", "Climax" by Edwin Yearwood, performed by Krosfyah; "Yamma, Yamma", "Doston Se Pyar Kiya" by R.D. Burman, performed by Anand Bakshi; "Tota Maina Ki Kahani" by Ravindra Jain, performed by Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar; "Morena Ven" by Rafael Rosario, performed by Los Hermanas Rosario; "Jab Molassie", "Barbara" by Austin Lyons, performed by Superblue; "Keff Remix" by Adam Beyer, Abstract Soul; "Pumpin Mate Remix Ver. 2" by Adam Beyer, remixed by Marco Carola; "Yeh Mera Jadoo" by Asha Bhosle, Ravindra Jain, performed by Asha Bhosle; "Black Woman Lament" by Leroy Calliste, performed by Black Stalin; "Blue Mood" by Gert Wilden, performed by Gert Wilden & Orchestra; "Zii Mau Zii Lautare" by Edmond Deda, Harry Negrin; "Derecha Izquierda" by David Sanchez, Luis Rodriguez, Luis Meijas, Johnny Torres, Miguel Nolasco, Danny Nolasco, performed by La Factoria del Sabor; "Yemonja Chant (traditional Yoruba chant)" performed by Ken Anderson, Warren Barksdale, John Berry, Sandra Harper, Maria Lucas; "Le Jayenge, Le Jayenge" by Inderjeet Singh Tulsi, Ravindra Jain, performed by Asha Bhosle, Kishore Kumar
- Sound Design
- Tom Efinger
- Sound Mixer
- Jan McLaughlin
- Re-recording Mixer
- Tony Volante
- Supervising Sound Editor
- Tom Efinger
- Sound Editor
- Frank Egan
- Foley
- Artist:
- Nick Montgomery
- Language/Cultural Consultants
- Sabrina Dhawan
- Michael Rogers
- Marija Marie
- Marina Draghici
- Daniel McKee
- Stunt Co-ordinator
- Manny Siverio
- Cast
- Valeria Golino
- Sylvie Otti
- Shashi Kapoor
- Vikram Raj
- Leon
- Errol Boyce
- Art Malik
- Bipin Raj
- Shabana Azmi
- Chandra Raj
- Mirjana Jokovic
- Elena Iscovescu
- Miho Nikaido
- Yuki Shimamura
- Marc Tissot
- Manuel
- John Ortiz
- Ramon Yanes
- David Vadim
- Josif Iscovescu
- Rosario Dawson
- Marisol Hidalgo
- Aunjanue Ellis
- Brenda Boyce
- Victor Argo
- Albani Krug
- Joanna P. Adler
- policeman 2
- Peter Appel
- Boomie
- Marie Barrientos
- Lydia
- Kalimi Baxter
- Maggie
- Gregg Bello
- Jimi
- Helene Cara
- Mrs Petrescu
- Kathleen Chalfant
- Nanda Brookeham
- Oscar A. Colon
- Mr Hidalgo
- Marina Durell
- Mrs Hidalgo
- Jennifer Esposito
- Jessica
- Venida Evans
- Lydia Maulet
- Dudley Findlay Jr
- Sinclair
- Mtume Gant
- key snatch kid
- Brandon Gayaram
- Simon Raj
- Neil Harris
- night watchman
- Ann Jones
- Nicole
- Peter Lewis
- waiter
- Domenick Lombardozzi
- policeman 1
- Mark Margolis
- bartender
- Laurence Mason
- Dennis
- Peter McRobbie
- Stelu
- David Moscow
- bellboy
- Mohan Nadkarni
- Vikram's fan 2
- Imani Parks
- girl in Botanica
- Gary Perez
- Victor
- Joselyn Reyes
- last year's Miss Colita
- Michael Rogers
- Larry
- Slava Schoot
- Russian bootlegger
- Rob Sedgwick
- Frank
- Bina Sharif
- Vikram's fan 1
- Aroon Shivdasani
- shopkeeper
- Samia Shoab
- dancing party guest
- Damon Taylor
- hotel clerk
- Ishaan Tharoor
- Bala Raj
- Leonid Uscher-Citer
- Boris
- Superblue and the Love Band
- themselves
- Omar Selman
- Wayne Osouna
- Joseph Achee
- Steve Occasion
- Jerry Marchan
- Errol Wise
- Gerald Achee
- Wayne Kirton
- John Farnsworth
- Michael Waldron
- Denise 'Lovey' Campbell
- The Love Band
- Candace Augustin
- Charene Phillips
- Pixie Ann Taylor
- Sharon Devonish
- Derrek Cassanova
- Karen Jinks
- Nikita Moe
- Ayanna Moore
- dancers
- Dominic Carter
- NY1 reporter
- WCBS Newsradio 88, NYC
- Jeff Caplan
- Pat Carrol
- news anchors
- Craig Allen
- meteorologist
- Neal Bush
- helicopter traffic reporter
- Certificate
- 15
- Distributor
- First Independent Films Ltd
- 11,775 feet
- 130 minutes 50 seconds
- Ultra-Stereo
- Colour by
- Technicolor