MYST Post 5: A Bronx Tale

In a film Directed and starred in by Robert Deniro, a boy grows up with two role models in his life. Lilo Brancato Jr. plays "C" an Italian boy growing up in the Bronx. His father, played by Deniro, is a straight, hard-working bus driver. He teaches him simple values like hard work, the importance of education,  and modesty. However, while sitting on a porch one day, "C" witnesses a murder by the most important man in the Bronx. His name is Sunny, played by Chaz Palminteri. He is the area's mafia boss and runs the area in which "C" lives. "C" is impressed by his power. When the cops come to talk to "C" regarding the murder, he does not say anything. He therefore gains the loyalty of sunny. "C" and Sunny become closer as they both get older. C's father, tries to keep the two apart, however he is unsuccessful in his attempts. Eventually conflict arises between C's father and Sunny. In the end, Sunny changes C's life, as well as saves it.

I give this movie 4 out of 4 stars. It was entertaining throughout, and had great character development. This film had similar qualities to films like Casino and Goodfellas. Though this movie was directed and starred in by the same person, the writer was also Chaz Palminteri, who played Sunny. The Deniro influence is prevalent throughout this film. He tends to like to add plenty of drama and unforeseen twists in his films. When "C" is feeling happy and there is a joyful tone and the lighting is bright.
As far as genre, this film is similar to many Scorsese films. The style is also similar in the way it tells the narrative. It includes lots of character development and unexpected twists. The lighting in the movie is interesting at times and also typical at times. The film uses a lot of dark scenes to create an ominous feel.
In this film there is one particular interesting cinematic scene. "C" goes to see Sunny for the first time as a kid. Sunny is in his usual hangout at a table. The lighting is dark. Though it is not Godfather dark, it is dark  nonetheless. There is a cloud of smoke as "C" walks in. There is a low angle shot looking up to Sunny as he begins to talk to "C" for the first time. This helps show the importance of Sunny.
 "C" is nervous to talk to Sunny and a high angle shot looks down on him as he speaks. This helps emphasize the little importance and power he has compared to Sunny. The irony is that "C" is important to Sunny because he was a witness to the murder.

Overall, I recommend this film to anyone interested in dramas or Italian mafia films. It tells a good story and is relatively easy to follow. An interesting note for Chaz  Palminteri fans is that this film is semi-autobiographical.