Black Ruby

I appreciate the Ave Fenix Pictures movie approach, coined the La Raza method for those of you who are unfamiliar with the film strategy. It's a blend of realism and community coming together to make feature films. They are rule breakers for sure and bend the rules of film school law while probably making filmmakers who spend hundreds of thousands of dollars cringe, as they evolve their film above big studio movies.

Black Ruby has been my favorite film in the La Raza trilogy and hats off to the performances of Jules Mandel and Louis Katz (actors Joseph Mennella and Zachary Laoutides). The Huff Post got it right, these are Brando and Clift performances, the real black Rubies found in Chicago. Noteworthy that I'm using the analogy of ruby in the rough actors, now found and now polished into hopefully bigger projects coming their way.

It's sounds like a drama, because it is, two jazz musicians falling for a forbidden woman who is an escort. Like all films written by Laoutides (whom also resumed his leading man role) there is a complexity to his stories, the narration in particular (narrated by the pimp in the movie) and hidden messages in the art house piece. Also, kudos for the first feature film shot with the iPhone 7. You would never know it though as the film looks vintage and aged playing into the movie's themes (and I mean this as a strong compliment).

Love it or hate it, the film is a modern day Clerks that explore topics people shy away from.

I watched Black Ruby at the London Film Awards. The story follows an obese swine of a being Jules Mandel, played by Joseph Mennella who falls for a black manipulative harlot named Ruby, played by Krystal E. Heredia and the delinquent disturbed best mate Louis Katz played by Zachary Laoutides who falls lovesick for her.

Aside from the story being hailed the first feature of 2017 to be shot with the iPhone-7, the storyline is the highlight focusing on manipulation, naughty ideas, opportunist males, and abuse. I have seen the film reviews since the festival and promotional shards 'Bradno and Montgomery Clift performances.' I don't know how they'd compare Jules Mandel's character Brando like. It's a stubby performance of a bruised man but nothing out of the ordinary. Louis Katz played by Zachary Laoutides owns the night modifying his skin, eyes and hair for the part; that's Brando for you! Laoutides' delicate and inner pain is Clift. You need to appreciate the mate for writing and acting in his own film for a third time.

It would have been nice to have the mates here for the FAQs so I can deliberate some of their artistic choices. The rank above is really attributed to my amusement of the Lewis Katz character.

Black Ruby was one of the few films that got the filmmaking crowd's rowdy at the London Film Awards. It was an inspiration for the aspiring filmmakers, yes; they can create their visions with their iPhones. Black Ruby is the first feature film in 2017 to be shot with the iPhone 7, although the entire film is not filmed exclusively with it. Visually the movie shows off dark colors, shadowy and gloomy, occasionally with black and white, matching the dark storyline of two Jazz musicians falling for a Black prostitute.

To the films credit we're not getting an HD flawless sparkling imagery. Much like the other films this studio puts out classical dated depictions. The storyline line is slower, musically charged and art house making it rare.

A good character performance by the actor Zachary Laoutides playing Louis Katz, whom has written his last three films. Speaking with the composers in attendance they confirmed British artists composed the soundtrack. I can see why the filmmakers in Manchester took to this film and applauded it at the end, an empowering film for future filmmakers.

The Rome Film Awards belonged to Guillermo Del Toro's the Human Face, but I believe creativity belonged to Black Ruby, seeing what can be done with the iPhone 7. Speaking of the Human Face a nice transition for Zachary Laoutides playing Louis Katz, a musician who falls in love with a Black Hispanic escort named Ruby, played by the appealing Krystal E. Heredia. His best friend, whose trying to hold onto his adolescence, Jules Mandel, played by the pudgy Joseph Mennella, manipulates Louis, being on meds and a vagabond. Jules' father was a famous jazz musician and he faiths to follow in the notoriety, but he's not endowed and uses Louis to write him melody as well as make extra bread in street fights.

Using an analogy Louis is an attractive mistreated dog in the film, abused by his abuser his best friend Jules. The movie has insightful dark comedy commentary by Quazy a thug who coordinates street fights and is associates with the leading characters.

The film is artsy and combines cultural ingenuity, with music, race and poetic acting. I was impressed that a film like this came out of the US feeling like it should have come out of London or France.

The mates of Jules and Louis are picking the forbidden apple from the tree of good and evil not sure what they're truly embarking upon when each take a bite out of Ruby, the black harlot or as the tale calls her Black Ruby a forbidden gem. Interesting that the black hustler Quazy who set's up the street fights in the movie narrates the entire film. Good choice.

The film could have upped the sex, upped the dialogues and upped the performances. Though, the subtlety works and the artsy approach of moods and silent performances with a dab of violence secure the film. I fathom sexually I wouldn't want to see Jules Mandel, the fat waster, he is played by Joseph Mennella have erotic dealings, his 5 second awkward chubby bang was enough. Louis Katz played by Zachary Laoutides reminded me of French film flashes, he sells the sexuality with his face to a rather numb and bland Ruby, played by Krystal Heredia. I can't justify why she was so expressionless in the film, but maybe it was her character choice, but a little too distant for me to care.

The soundtrack made by Manchester's own Liam Williams is stellar and award worthy. Any Brando similarities should be attributed to Zachary Laoutides. Joseph Mennella will disappoint you if you think he is anything close to Brando or even expressions the classical looker. I can conclusively see the Montgomery Clift comparison to Laoutides, he is a unusual actor who understands silence and expressions.

This film is full of forbidden fruits because they break the guidelines in film, but that is why the film was liked, applauded and nominated. Audiences like rule breakers.