A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (2006)
TOMATOMETER
AUDIENCE SCORE
Critic Consensus: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints is a lively, powerful coming-of-age tale with winning performances and sharp direction from first-timer Dito Montiel.
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Videos & Photos
Movie Info
This is the story of a pivotal summer on the hot, sweaty, violent streets of Astoria, Queens--a summer that changed only Dito Montiel, but the lives of everyone around him. Torn between is ill father, his domineering friend and protector Antonio, the neighborhood war and the lustful temptations of youth, Dito struggles against his desire to escape, running away from everything he knows. He finds redemption 15 years later when he returns to Queens and faces the "saints" who have influenced his … More
| Rating: | R (for pervasive language, some violence, sexuality and drug use) |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Directed By: | Dito Montiel |
| Written By: | Dito Montiel |
| In Theaters: | Sep 29, 2006 Wide |
| On DVD: | Feb 20, 2007 |
| Box Office: | $0.4M |
| Runtime: |
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Cast
as Dito
as Laurie
as Young Dito
as Monty
as Flori
as Antonio
as Older Antonio
as Antonio's Father
as Nerf
as Joey
as Frank
as Young Laurie
as Diane
as Jenny
as Guiseppe
as Street Corner Puerto...
as Puerto Rican Van Dri...
as Beach Chair Guy
as Teacher
as Mike O'Shea
as Drunken Man in Subwa...
as Token Clerk
as Uncle George
as Aunt Mary
as Reaper
as Reaper's Little Brot...
as Queensbridge Bodega ...
as Prison Guard
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LoginCritic Reviews for A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
All Critics (98) | Top Critics (33) | Fresh (71) | Rotten (23) | DVD (14)
Given all the filmed memory pieces about screaming, violent Italian-American families in New York boroughs, I'm not especially thrilled by even a well-made example.
The plot itself might not break much new ground, but the telling, by both cast and crew, makes this a memoir to remember.
It takes a while to recognize these saints, but the effort is worth it.
Montiel's honey coated Queens of the mid-'80s is rich with the violence and carnality of teenagers, and the performances of LaBeouf (as the young Dito) and Channing Tatum (as his Stanley Kowalski-like grunt friend, Antonio) are raw pleasures.
Dito Montiel adapts his autobiographical 2001 novel into a vivid slice-of-life drama from the Jim Carroll school of disaffected coming-of-age New York journalism.
It is its very autobiographical roots that make Saints an emotional wallop, a raw, authentic work that is, at its defiant core, violently and unrestrainedly alive.
Audience Reviews for A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
This depiction of harsh times in the Bronx is portrayed with perfection! I thought the performances from LaBeouf and Tatum were amazing! The plot is extremely engaging and every scene sent chills down my spine. The cinematography, the gritty look, the handheld camera shots, and the low-budget production values, are all contributing factors towards what I consider an overall masterpiece in independent filmmaking. Director Dito Montiel (in my opinion) has made his mark on cinema, creating believable characters to go along with a story that is inspired by true events. This film is a breathtaking work of subtle art filmography. I highly recommend this movie to film lovers. "A Guide To Recognizing Your Saints" is a beautiful little film!
Super Reviewer
Fizzes a bit at the end and didn't really like the adult cast, but the parts of this in flashback in the 70's were interesting. Kind of like "Kids". Enjoyed the music too!
Super Reviewer
You can?t help but think of films such as ?A Bronx Tale? and ?Sleepers? when viewing this film, perhaps more intense and perhaps more gritty in parts, but can?t help being slightly disappointed with the anti-climatic ending after being built up so much.
What I did like about this film, was the building on the individual characters, they seemed to have much depth to them, something I wouldn?t have particularly thought of seeing from Shia Laboef and Channing Tatum and was a pleasant surprise. This was most definitely an Actor driven film opposed to storyline, which gave it believabiltity as a true story.
Super Reviewer
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints Quotes
| Young Antonio: | I'm a fucking piece of shit. And that's who I am. |
| Dito Montiel: | In the end - just like I said - I left everything, and everyone. But no one, no one has ever left me. |
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