LOS SURES

(director: Diego Echeverria; cinematographers: Alicia Weber/Mark Benjamin; editor: Kathryn Taverna; Runtime: 57; MPAA Rating: NR; producer: Diego Echeverria; Oscilloscope Laboratories; 1984-USA-in Spanish and English with English subtitles)
“Time capsule documentary on a Spanish ghetto in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz

Diego Echeverriadirects this no-nonsense time capsule documentary on a Spanish ghetto in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn. The Spanish people call the area Los Sures. In the early 1980s it was considered one of the poorest areas in the country. The 1984 film gives us a look back at street graffiti, boomboxes and break dancing. It’s shot on 16-millimeter film. It never received a theatrical release. Five diverse residents of the area are interviewed. The two men include a 20-year-old car thief and an older gentleman struggling to get by running a small construction company. Two of the three women get by on welfare and the other is a college grad who is a dedicated worker for a community-based help organization. Life is tough for the residents, who are hard-pressed to make enough money to survive. The residents tell us in their own words what they feel.

REVIEWED ON 12/25/2016 GRADE: B-