Country: Paraguay
Review: In this Paraguayan film directed by the duo Maneglia & Schembori (their second feature film), we follow the adventures of Victor, a 17 year-old boy who was assigned to deliver seven mysterious boxes with an unknown content. Helped by his friend Liz, he will go on a crazy ride through alleys and strange places of Mercado #4 in Assunción, being chased by several men whose goal is to take hold of the boxes. Painted with vivid brush strokes, and denoting a hasty pace and funny tone, “7 Boxes” is a rousing movie that shows the art of cunning in a claustrophobic ambience, where everybody steals and is stolen. We realize that no one is innocent here; crooks, police, or common people, are all connected in obscure deals involving money, cell phones, or any other goods that might have economical expression. Even with some stereotyped scenes, the film doesn’t rest in pointless situations and never loses its agitated involvement. It was capable of taking a coherent path without losing its focus despite the huge amount of things happening at the same time, like crimes, briberies, chasings, quarrels, romance, and even childbirth. With a finger pointed to social-economical issues, I can say that this is a sort of chaotic mess that works fine, capturing all the heat and colors of a city that never stops.
