Films/DVD Asylum

Posted by tinear (A) on May 22, 2014 at 16:44:36

Chilean and Yugoslavian drug dealers and mafia. I think. The ethnicities were so varied, and the allegiances so fluid, that I lost track.
Anyhow, a young business school "star" with aspirations of boot-strapping himself up to the highest echelons of society finances his attempts to crash the barriers by working as a taxi driver and selling term papers he hurriedly writes. Soon, however, he meets a wealthy young woman that will take more cash than he's managing to earn; this coincides with a huge drug scheme being planned by a friend he knows from the taxi service.
What sets this apart is the breadth of it all: it's not just about the action, it's about the naiveté of the young man who thinks he's a lion of business potential; soon, he finds there are worse animals than lions to worry about. And these aren't two dimensional portraits; the different characters, including the most heinous, are given backstories and motivations that transcend the usual lust for drugs, sex, and power.
In that respect, this film has a bit of The Godfather in it: it's trying to do more than tell a crime tale. I've read that parts two and three are out: count me in.
A solid 3 out of 5 stars.