This is one I warmed up to. A kitchen sink drama of the first order that I reviewed for DVD Snapshot, this is a refreshing change of pace.
Prince of Broadway
Official Synopsis:
Prince of Broadway is the story
of Lucky (Prince Adu) and Levon (Karren Karagulian), two men whose
lives converge in the underbelly of New York's wholesale fashion
district. Lucky, an illegal immigrant from Ghana, makes ends meet by
soliciting shoppers on the street with knock-off brand merchandise.
Levon, an Armenian-Lebanese immigrant, operates an illegal storefront
with a concealed back room where counterfeit goods are showcased to
interested shoppers. Lucky's world is suddenly turned upside down
when a child is thrust into his life by a woman who insists the
toddler is his son. While Lucky copes with his new domestic dilemma,
Levon struggles to save a marriage that is falling apart. The seedy
side of the wholesale district is revealed through a journey that
continually confronts the interplay between what is fake and what is
real.
Set in the shadow of the Flatiron
building and soaked in the colorful bustle of Broadway, the film is
as much a brutal drama as it is a tender comedy, revealing the lives
of immigrants in America seeking ideals of family and love while
creating their own knock-off of the American Dream.
Our Take:
A low-budget, slice-of-life
relationship drama about two different New York City hustlers and the
families they create, Prince of Broadway practically
feels like a documentary. A collection of belligerent hustlers
muddle through trying to get ahead, all the while arguing. There's
even fighting in traffic. Feeling improvised and free-form, the film
is centered in the claustrophobic back room of Levon's store
and Lucky's dirty rented room. There's an oppressive hopelessness to
the characters' homes and workplaces that, from the very start of
this movie, might make you reconsider watching. It's hard to root for
being “aspirational” here. Even Levon's relatively well-appointed
(but tiny) apartment is depressing. (Perhaps it's because I'm not a
New Yorker. I'm used to space and occasional quiet.)
