Day 46: A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

"Cause me and Mike, we're going to California with our band and I want you to come cause I love you, and the Mets won."

Many times it is hard to find a good independent film that will satisfy you and hold your attention. I can speak from experience, as I have watched many independent films, but “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” is one of my favorite independent films that I've seen. This isn't your average independent film though. First off, its an autobiography film that shows the life of the actual director of the film, Dito Montiel. This movie also boasts a cast that would be recognized as a blockbuster hit, not a mere independent movie. The movie feature Robert Downey Jr., Shia LaBeouf, Rosario Dawson and Channing Tatum.

The film starts out with Dito (Downey Jr.) on the phone with his mother as she is asking him to visit his father who is very sick. It seems to be a reasonable request, but Dito's relationship with his father is quite complicated. After this scene, the movie quickly jumps to the summer of 1986, where most of the movie takes place. While in this part of the movie, we see the life of Dito (now played by LaBeouf) as a teenager. He has a tight group of friends who are all troublemakers and his closest friends being Antonio (Channing Tatum) and Nerf.

The movie continues through a series of events while in the 80's, as Dito and his group of friends constantly get in trouble. They live in the slum of Astoria, New York where violence is prevalent. The typical hang out for the group is usually Dito's home, or anywhere on the streets where they can sense trouble.

As I had mentioned earlier, Dito and his father had an unusual relationship. They really loved each other, but Dito sometimes felt that his father didn't do enough for him and possibly cared for his friend Antonio more that he did his own son. Antonio was all alone with his mother while his father was in jail, and Dito's father made an effort to help him through his rough times. Even though things seemed to be okay between Dito and his father at the start of the film, things quickly changed and Dito ran off to California.

Now, as you watch this film, it is arguable that his father was not the only reason that he ran off. This is where the title of the movie comes into play. “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” in a sense is what Dito was doing when he ran off. He could see that is future was headed in the wrong direction and unlike his other friends, he decided to change things. As an adult, he writes a book entitled “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” that explains his life and his fight to get out of the struggle.

If you are the kind of person that has had a hard time getting into independent films, “A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints” is a great place to start. It doesn't have as much as an Indy feel with the cast that is has. I would recommend this movie to anyone, from a movie enthusiast to the casual watcher.