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overprotective father, Monty. Monty used to ignore Dito's feelings, and he didn't want Dito to travel. He is angry at Dito for leaving, and for not returning sooner to visit; he then sends Dito away. Laurie urges him to be a man and come to terms with his father, who was heartbroken when he left. Dito does leave, but returns later, to insist that he take his father to the hospital.
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Montiel said that he made the film because “I wanted to walk down those streets again and fall in love with Laurie again, it would have been nice to have had that moment at the end of the film where Dito met Laurie, reconnecting as adults." The real-life Laurie was white instead of
Hispanic and died
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The
Scottish character Mike is a composite of a man named Mike O'Shea; a kid named Ray, who used to go to the city with Dito, sniff amyl nitrite and smoke hashish; and Angelo Ruggeria (a younger brother of Antonio) who was later murdered. The real Mike O'Shea is Irish, alive, married, and living in
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Montiel states that
Antonio is a composite of three people. The book mentions a kid named Antonio Ruggeria who was sent to prison for manslaughter, escaped, and was later sent to prison again for things "that are even beyond putting in a movie that people might find redeemable." In the book, a copy
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Dito meets Nerf, and talks with him in a parked car, where they can talk undisturbed, which would not have been possible at Nerf's house. Dito then visits Laurie, his childhood sweetheart, who is now a mother. They only talk through the open window; she does not let him in. Dito finally visits his
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drug addict, Frank, with a dog-walking business. They went to his house to collect the wages he was slow in paying. At first he did not listen to them, but then he gave them all the money he kept in the refrigerator, more than he owed them and told them to leave town. Shortly thereafter, Mike was
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The film shows
Giuseppe getting killed on a subway track. The inspiration for the scene was a kid named Billy who was "riding" trains when he was killed. The real Giuseppe Ruggeria is a career criminal who was deported to Milan. Montiel describes the real Giuseppe as being like a cat. "The train
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Montiel states that all the characters in the film are a combination of at least three people and sometimes six or seven, although some characters are given the names of people from real life. Listed below are some of the main differences between four characters and their real-life counterparts.
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Viewers are then introduced to
Antonio's younger brother, Giuseppe - reckless, destructive, and possibly insane. Giuseppe lies on a subway track; in spite of urgent warnings from his brother Antonio and Nerf, that a train was coming, he failed to get back on the platform and was killed.
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guy." Once he got to audition for the role, he "fucked his office up," putting a "hole through the wall" and went as "crazy" as he could in order to change the image
Montiel had of him to land the part.
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during the 1980s. Montiel wrote and directed the film adaptation, which was released in the United States in
September 2006 and in Europe in March 2007. The film stars
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Mike O'Shea, another friend of Dito's, was a
Scottish boy who dreamt of becoming a musician. Mike and Dito had planned to go to California on a bus. They worked for a
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Dito visits the adult
Antonio in prison and sees him as a changed man of wisdom. The film concludes with the two of them sitting down in conversation.
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murdered by a member of a Puerto Rican gang in retaliation for the murder of Reaper, after which Dito travelled alone to
California.
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is a lively, powerful coming-of-age tale with winning performances and sharp direction from first-timer Dito Montiel."
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Shared between Robert Downey Jr., Shia LaBeouf, Rosario Dawson, Chazz Palminteri, Dianne Wiest, and Channing Tatum
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1044:"Capone interviews A GUIDE TO RECOGNIZING YOUR SAINTS author/screenwriter/director Dito Montiel!!!"
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The film's narrative jumps frequently between 2005 and flashbacks from 1986 (filmed largely with
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based on 94 reviews, with an average rating of 6.6/10. The site’s critics consensus reads, "
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1133:"AWARDS WATCH: "Half Nelson," "Little Miss Sunshine" Top Spirit Award Nominations"
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of the film was released on February 20, 2007 in the United States.
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gang member Reaper, as payback for an attack on young Dito.
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of a newspaper article describing Antonio's escape from
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934:A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
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555:A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
442:as Antonio & Giuseppe's father
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63:A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
24:A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints
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870:from the original on May 24, 2011
642:Gijón International Film Festival
615:Dramatic, for the ensemble cast
1468:Films produced by Trudie Styler
1403:2000s coming-of-age drama films
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549:The film holds a 76% rating on
299:) with characters occasionally
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1473:Films scored by Jonathan Elias
1463:Films directed by Dito Montiel
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602:Dramatic, for Dito Montiel
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445:Adam Scarimbolo as Giuseppe
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457:as Frank the dog walker
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1413:2006 crime drama films
1187:. Good For You Books.
1183:Montiel, Dito (2001).
714:Best First Screenplay
571:Sundance Film Festival
565:Awards and nominations
288:as a younger Montiel.
163:Belladonna Productions
733:Best Supporting Male
440:Federico Castelluccio
301:addressing the viewer
140:Christopher Tellefsen
1493:2000s American films
973:. September 27, 2007
948:on October 11, 2007.
907:. September 29, 2006
748:Little Miss Sunshine
726:Little Miss Sunshine
312:Present Day (2005):
214: (United States)
1135:. November 28, 2006
736:for Channing Tatum
612:Special Jury Prize
264:is a 2006 American
1300:Films directed by
1108:. January 28, 2006
1052:. October 18, 2006
1049:Ain't It Cool News
837:. January 13, 2007
770:Friends with Money
461:Eleonore Hendricks
35:Promotional poster
1448:Films set in 2001
1438:Films set in 1986
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1330:The Son of No One
1161:. January 4, 2007
1030:, pp. 89–91.
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994:, pp. 17–26.
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765:Frances McDormand
757:for Melonie Diaz
717:for Dito Montiel
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599:Director's Award
375:Robert Downey Jr.
324:Astoria, New York
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1163:. Retrieved
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1028:Montiel 2001
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290:
286:Shia LaBeouf
274:Dito Montiel
260:
259:
258:
223:Running time
129:Éric Gautier
119:Dianne Wiest
107:Eric Roberts
103:Melonie Diaz
95:Shia LaBeouf
62:
54:Dito Montiel
45:Dito Montiel
18:
1362:The Clapper
1165:January 18,
1139:October 23,
1112:October 23,
1083:October 23,
1056:February 4,
977:February 4,
911:February 4,
841:January 18,
815:October 23,
670:Best Actor
541:, England.
408:as Antonio
320:Los Angeles
295:with short
253:$ 2 million
167:Xingu Films
71:Produced by
41:Directed by
1393:2006 films
1387:Categories
791:References
779:Home media
744:Alan Arkin
559:Metacritic
488:Characters
472:Production
394:as Laurie
266:drama film
250:Box office
227:98 minutes
210:2006-09-29
195:2006-01-20
156:Production
1370:Riff Raff
1346:Boulevard
874:April 14,
545:Reception
240:Languages
158:companies
135:Edited by
1354:Man Down
1322:Fighting
1235:AllMovie
868:Archived
763:Lost to
742:Lost to
723:Lost to
523:Giuseppe
463:as Jenny
201:Sundance
145:Music by
87:Starring
59:Based on
510:Antonio
339:abusive
245:Spanish
243:English
232:Country
208: (
193: (
1373:(2024)
1365:(2017)
1357:(2015)
1349:(2014)
1341:(2013)
1333:(2011)
1325:(2009)
1317:(2006)
1191:
706:Notes
662:Notes
591:Notes
497:Laurie
481:Disney
334:1986:
270:memoir
199: (
711:2006
700:Award
697:Group
667:2006
656:Award
653:Group
596:2006
585:Award
582:Group
539:Essex
297:shots
1224:IMDb
1189:ISBN
1167:2007
1141:2023
1114:2023
1085:2023
1058:2012
979:2012
913:2012
876:2011
843:2007
817:2023
783:The
767:for
746:for
703:Won?
694:Year
676:Yes
659:Won?
650:Year
618:Yes
605:Yes
588:Won?
579:Year
532:Mike
504:AIDS
368:Cast
316:Dito
307:Plot
1255:at
1244:at
1233:at
1222:at
785:DVD
760:No
739:No
720:No
632:No
377:as
354:gay
1389::
1157:.
1122:^
1104:.
1093:^
1074:.
1046:.
1035:^
969:.
954:^
938:.
921:^
903:.
884:^
860:.
833:.
806:.
506:.
303:.
1293:e
1286:t
1279:v
1197:.
1169:.
1143:.
1116:.
1087:.
1060:.
981:.
941:V
936:"
915:.
878:.
845:.
819:.
212:)
203:)
197:)
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