“Kicks” is one of the best and freshest independent films of the year, yet ingenious and original.
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| Courtesy of Focus Features |
The first fifteen minutes of the film seem to be the most extended Nike Air Jordan’s commercial ever. This story is not about an ordinary tennis shoe, it is about "THE JORDANS."
Once the main character starts looking for what is worth in life, is when the action takes off.
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| Courtesy of Focus Features |
In the suburbs of Oakland, California, we meet Brandon (Jahking Guillory), an introvert teenager who likes to hang out with his older buddies, Rico (Christopher Meyer) and Albert (CJ Wallance). They love to smoke, drink and rap.
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| Courtesy of Focus Features |
In “Kicks,” the city plays one of the main characters.
The teen-drama moves from a small, impoverished ghetto to a more significant and more dangerous part of the town, where the big boys play with huge cars, easy girls, loaded guns and plenty of drugs.
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| Courtesy of Focus Features |
While the meanest guy in the “barrio,” Flaco (Kofi Siriboe), physically abuses Brandon (14), his five-year-old also is also getting abused.
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| Flaco is played by Kofi Siriboe Courtesy of Focus Features |
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| Courtesy of Focus Features |
The young actors of "Kicks" are terrific. They had fun working with director Justin Tipping.
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| Director, co-writer Justin Tipping, Photo by Jose A Hermosillo, Copyright Festival in LA, 2016 |
“Kicks” is a remarkable film debut for the director Justin Tipping.
The director, cleverly, incorporated hip-hop in the beginning to foreshadowing the rap that plays later, showing the transformation of a fragile teenager molding into a robust young adult.
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| Jahking Guillory as Brandon, Photo by Jose A Hermosillo Copyright Festival in LA 2016 |
In other parts of the world, some movies about troubled kids have been made in a similar tone. For example, the award winner Mexican production “Güeros,” last year’s independent sensation “Dope,” the Oscar winner “Tsotsi” from South Africa, "My Brother the Devil" from the U.K., and the iconic “Boys n the Hood” by John Singleton.
The film is slightly predictable but satisfies the audience who cheers for the main character, the vulnerable teen who wants to take justice into his own hands. If he succeeds or not, this is worth trying.
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