There is someone interested in making a documentary about Louis. The documentarist uses this pretense to interview Louis and the people around him, recording during a couple of hours, mostly at night, his adventures with his two closest friends, one white and one black like him while the trio is searching for a birthday gift. In the meantime, they meet with all kind of people, enter different houses and attend various parties, with the omnipresence of the streets of St. Louis, Missouri. Gorgeously shot in black-and-white, the film deals with past traumas, hopes about the future, sounds from the hood, the dangers of violence and drugs, women and racial tension while following the protagonists wandering around town. This fiction, framed as a documentary, starts with an anecdote to suggest a global situation and transcends comedy to hint at drama.

The second feature-length film of director Michael J. Larnell, with Spike Lee as its executive producer, Cronies arrives at Americana after its screening at some of the most important American indie festivals like Tribeca, Sundance or London. A movie that almost seems improvised for the genuine feeling of the performances and the anecdotes that are told, bringing us closer to the authentic American indie spirit, even going back to its origins. Because of its black-and-white photography, its Afro-American characters, the importance of the exteriors, the naturalness and the improvised feeling of the acting, the impression that pieces fall into place when coming together, Cronies inevitably bears resemblance with John Cassavetes’ Shadows (1959).

Spanish Première

2015: Sundance Film Fest (Next)