So before I start the first review to kick this little project off here's a timeline of events that happened in my life that pertains to the subject matter being reviewed: DRUGS.
My first love affair with HEROIN was when i was at the ripe bold age of 17 years old and straight outta high school. Being physically, mentally and sexually abused as a child (even self abused no less) i started acting out, or rather in. I started listening to whiny ass music and experimenting. Heroin was the first REAL drug I had ever really tried. Sex was a bore, music and drugs seemed to go hand in hand for me. I am completely obsessed with movies, books, and the overall history of DRUGS. I find them fascinating mostly because I have tried the ones that have interested me the most and can relate to a lot of the stories I see, hear and read about. So here it is my overall view and review of GRINGO AKA STORY OF A JUNKIE
I had first heard about this movie through a friend who had told me recently that every movie I watched about drug abuse would NEVER COMPARE TO THIS ONE! I was immediately enthralled with the notion that there was something that I could not only relate to but also be absolutely appalled by. The story opens with John Spacely skateboarding around New York City. This is the New York City I had wanted to live in since I can remember. I know it may sound crazy but before Giuliani cleaned up the city the notion of an Apocalyptic city within reach of my grasp was a dream come true. The fact that the scum of the earth was ruling the town thrilled me mostly because I WAS THAT SCUM OF THE EARTH. Women tricking, johns collecting and every junkie in Manhattan lined up for their dope was the New York City i had never believed existed. The scenes were RAW and reminded me of times when I couldn't find a vein or when you got robbed out of a deal. Lech Kowalski directs this grim picture into the mind and times of a junkie and does it so well. Along with the intense music that scores the movie I'd say its not only hard to watch but also hard to listen to at times.
Few may know this, but John Spacely was an early ( I mean REAL early) publisher of PUNK magazine. He was born and raised in Santa Monica, California where mischief and minor drug habits first started and moved with his girlfriend to Berkeley in Northern California. Hard times saw the couple who again made the move, this time to New York City for a new and better life. As John tells this part of his story (while shooting up no less) you can hear the moment when he lost hope. The ultimate despair that led to his drug abuse and further sorrow is seen through his prodding for a vein to escape the stark reality of death. Lech Kowalski also adds other junkers in the film by portraying a group of women having a raw conversation about being female junkies. Seriously, this director was making a punk film, all he had to do was edit the drugs out (even though he may not have had a film at all). His punk rock n roll stylings are truly evident in BORN TO LOSE: THE LAST ROCK N ROLL MOVIE as well as DOA. Spacely also stars in the first with a crazy fucking detail I'm omitting because its a spoiler! At times this movie was hard to watch, there is the glimmer of hope in Spacely's eyes when hes trying to quit... or "kick". The worst part was watching this motherfucker get dopesick! My bones ached just watching him toss and turn under and above the covers! Is there an ending? Is it a never ending downward spiral for GRINGO?
You'll have to see it to fucking believe it. Not for yeller bellies, and certainly not for anyone in denial about the realities of this world.
** SCORE: 5/5
FOR FANS OF: PANIC IN NEEDLE PARK, PERMANENT MIDNIGHT,CHRISTIANE F,DRUGSTORE COWBOY, TRAINSPOTTING
Reviewed by MARK E. MOON
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