Intense, gripping, stylish and poignant

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

Raising Victor Vargas (2002): Dir: Peter Sollett / Cast: Victor Rasuk, Altagracia Guzman, Judy Marte, Wilfree Vasquez, Melonie Diaz: Standard romantic comedy about growth and generations. Victor Vargas has the top reputation of scoring with women in his neighbourhood until he is caught having sex with an overweight woman. He decides to ask out the new girl in town but after being rejected he bargains with her younger brother to set him up. In return Vargas will set him up with his sister. His strict grandmother takes a dislike to his behaviour and the example he is setting for his younger siblings. Fine setup hindered by formula and an ending that seems to justify teen sex. Directed with insight by Peter Sollett with an engaging performance by Victor Rasuk as Vargas who may get off with too much. Altagracia Guzman is superb as his grandmother who struggles to maintain the virtue of her household. Unfortunately Judy Marte as the new girl is standard issue predictable romance tired of being hit on by boys but ultimately accepts Vargas who will have her in the sack before the credits roll. Wilfree Vasquez as her anxious younger brother steals scenes as he provides information in hopes for a romantic reward. Message is strong but the filmmaking is amateur at best. Theme indicate the difficulties in raising anyone let alone Victor Vargas. Score: 5 ½ / 10

"Victor doesn't have much, but that's not stopping him from trying to go out with Judy, the prettiest girl on the block. All he's got is hope and a one-bedroom apartment he shares with his family. His grandmother doesn't trust him, his brother worships him, and his half-sister just declared war. But Victor thinks love really can conquer all in this warm, genuine, and touching romantic comedy about life in the part of the city most people never see," according to the DVD sleeve's synopsis.Peter Sollett' "Raising Victor Vargas" elicits engaging "debut" performances from lead actor Victor Rasuk (as Victor Vargas) and the cast. Mr. Rasuk and juicy Judy Marte (as Judy Gonzalez) are sexy and endearing as "Lower East Side Kids" discovering the joy of sexual attraction. Considering how attractive they look in this picture, it's not hard to predict they hook up - and, although you may wonder how "innocent" they really are, their characterizations seem true.Victor's brother "Nino" is played by Victor's real-life brother Silvestre Rasuk, who looks the part his older brother is playing. Sometimes, it's nice to see movie brothers who actually look alike; and, hopefully they will work together again. "Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" sister Krystal Rodriguez (as Vicki) and old world Altagracia Guzman (as Grandma) round out the sex-starved Dominican immigrant family. So, are hand-held-camera coming-of-age films in vogue, or what? ******* Raising Victor Vargas (5/16/02) Peter Sollett ~ Victor Rasuk, July Marte, Silvestre Rasuk

I had the opportunity to see Peter Sollett's celebrated short film, FIVE FEET HIGH AND RISING, at the First Run Festival (NYU's student showcase) in April of 2000 and it truly was a remarkable achievement in the short format. Sollett cast appealing and charismatic young non-actors from around the Brooklyn neighborhood where he was shooting. The result was something out of the French New Wave – a raw, unflinching look at youth and growing up while remaining optimistic, romantic and charming. He even ended the film with a freeze frame, akin to THE 400 BLOWS.I bring up the short because it is this short on which RAISING VICTOR VARGAS, which aired on Saturday on Reel 13, was based. Sollett actually uses the same kids that he used in the short, only now they are several years older and suddenly very aware that they are acting. The improvisational moments that Sollett allows for in both films are more contrived in the feature now that the kids are older and more experienced. That lightning-in-a-bottle honesty that he captured in FIVE FEET HIGH AND RISING was missing in RAISING VICTOR VARGAS. The lead kid, Victor Rasuk, was much taller than five feet this time around, but he was still trying to play the puny upstart vying for the attention of a much taller and potentially older woman. Only he's not so puny and they are now the same height. The dynamics of the original were lost.This is not to say that RAISING VICTOR VARGAS is a bad film – not by any stretch. It is very clear that Sollett is a very intelligent and talented filmmaker. The family dynamic he created in the film is very effective and the addition of the grandmother character was a great idea. I particularly like that she was flawed instead of the perfect, learned and loving matriarch that you so often see. There are even some moments that approach the immediacy and sincerity of the short, but not enough to justify returning to the same story. RAISING VICTOR VARGAS got extraordinary reviews when it first came out a few years ago, but I wonder if all those critics had the opportunity to see the short as I had. If they had, I wonder if they wouldn't feel as let down as I did.(For more information on this or any other Reel 13 Indie, check out www.reel13.org).

I thought the film was an excellent portrayal of urban life and the process of maturation in that environment. We watch Victor as he is forced to investigate his macho outlook, Judy does the same, and transform from a boy reenacting simulations of masculinity to a boy realizing the fallacies and inherent contradictions in those simulations. An excellent contemporary coming of age story with an interesting exploration of perceptions of gender as they exist in the inner city. Perhaps some may consider the themes trite, as the other reviewer has, however given the unchangeable nature of the themes Sollett deals with I don't think we can really complain. In the end he is successful in giving the theme of maturation a contemporary context that is comical and highly entertaining. I think most people will walk away satisfied from this movie.