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PALM TREES DOWN 3rd STREET

2008, Un-rated, 18 minutes

“Palm Trees Down 3rd Street” is a masterpiece as far as short films are concerned. Shot in a grainy, black and white style, the film is reminiscent of John Cassavetes and Charles Burnett at their finest. Here is a film that captures the San Francisco I am familiar with, complete with Muni, taquerias, and crazy homeless people. The film follows a young girl looking for her father amid the poverty of San Fransisco’s Mission district. Along the way she meets a little hoodlum she eventually comes to realize she has more in common with that she originally thought. “3rd Street” refuses to scream at you. Dealing with issues that would be easy to take over-the-top, the film dwells, instead, in subtle moments. Emotions run just beneath the surface and never bubble over in dramatic displays. The lead actresses remain deadpan, delivering each line impeccably. I believed in this story. I was invested in this story. Director, Maria Judice, is looking for the financing to turn this film into a feature-length project. While I am a huge proponent of short films as a final format, “3rd Street” could be a successful feature. If Judice stays true to the independent, grainy feel she started with, I look forward to what she can explore with a feature.

FILMTHREAT.COM

buddha1098 says: "Palm Trees Down 3^rd St. is a fantastic film by young director Maria Judice. Set in her hometown of San Francisco Maria captures the city like only a native could. Nikki and Winter are two young girls from different sides of town. Nikki is searching fro Frank, her long absent father. Winter knows the streets and characters of San Francisco like the back of her hand and with her help, Nikki believes she can find Frank. Reyce Judice gives a gentle and warm performance as Nicki, the timid catholic school girl searching for her dead-beat father. Bertha Argumento provides much of the films comedy, sass, and mystery as the street smart loner Winter. A young girl who proves to have more in common with Nicki than just age. When Nicki enlists Winter to show her around the city, the two discover more than just the father figure they have both been missing."

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