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Benjamin Bratt, Giancarlo Esposito, Talisa Soto, Nelson Vasquez, Mandy Patinkin ... see more see more... , Michael Irby , Michael Wright , Rita Moreno , Jaime Sánchez , Rome Neal , Amiri Baraka , Bill Boggs , Luis Caballero , Oscar Colon , O.L. Duke , Mateo Gomez , Panchito Gomez , Robert Klein , Antonia Rey , Fisher Stevens , Jaime Tirelli , Griffin Dunne , Jack O'Connell , Valentina Quinn , Miriam Cruz , Bruno Iannone , John Ortiz , Charles Sammarco , Ed Vassallo , Al Rodriguez , Sophia Domoulin , Gilbert Collazo , Samuel Bruce Campbell , Loraine Velez , Eric Nieves , Lisa Rhoden , Ray Santiago , Charles Santy , Vanessa Del Sol , Amanda KC , Tony Vazzo , Lydia Trueheart , Pedro Pietri , Jamal Joseph , Miguel Algarin , Tara Wilson , Joanne Newborn , Francine Berman , Jack A. O'Connell

Miguel Pinero became a leading figure in New York's art scene during the 1970s as a poet, actor, and playwright whose vibrant, often pointed, work spoke directly to the lower classes and to disenfranc... read more read more...hised minorities. As a founder of the influential Nuyorican Poets Cafe, his poetry soon became recognized as a forerunner to rap and hip-hop music. TV screenwriter turned director Leon Ichaso spins this impressionistic biographical look at this artist. Raised in an abusive family, Pinero (Benjamin Bratt) turns to streets for solace. Soon he is engaging in petty crime, drug dealing, and addiction. When he finds himself in Sing-Sing, he turns his experiences in prison into the play Short Eyes, which eventually garners him seven Tony awards in 1974. Uncomfortable with his new fame, he clings to his girlfriend, Sugar (Talisa Soto), and his childhood buddy, Miguel Algarin (Giancarlo Esposito), who is a literature professor and who co-founded the Nuyorican Cafe. Though Pinero makes cameos on such shows as Kojak, his art begins to suffer as he starts to succumb to his drug addictions. This film was screened at the 2001 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Flixster Users

67% liked it

949 ratings

Critics

43% liked it

61 critics

R, 1 hr. 43 min.

Directed by: Leon Ichaso

Release Date: December 31, 2002

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DVD Release Date: July 16, 2002

Stats: 56 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (56)

  • rjsalazarnyc
    June 16, 2007
    rjsalazarnyc
    Benjamin Bratt is Amaizing in this Feature Film. I had the opportunity to work in this Movie and I was just blown away looking at him Performing.

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Critic Reviews

Lisa Alspector
July 31, 2007
Lisa Alspector, Chicago Reader

Overlapping the artist's biography and his work, writer-director Leon Ichaso pointedly reflects the chaos in his subject's shortish life, but he links the artist's frustrations and talent in the usual... Full Review

Dennis Harvey
July 31, 2007
Dennis Harvey, Variety

A scattershot stab at a fascinating life and times. Full Review

Loren King
July 20, 2002
Loren King, Chicago Tribune

A vivid rendering of the complexities of the artist's soul, and a notable attempt to convey the trajectory of a volatile creative life. Full Review

Terry Lawson
May 3, 2002
Terry Lawson, Detroit Free Press

Bratt's performance is as steady and consistent as the film is frustrating. Full Review

Joe Baltake
March 22, 2002
Joe Baltake, Sacramento Bee

Bratt ... takes a giant step forward in terms of credibility. Full Review

Jay Carr
March 22, 2002
Jay Carr, Boston Globe

It's impressionistic and risks incoherence, but it works as a successful montage of the unruly life of a sensitive, talented, but conflicted man whose self-destructiveness it never tries to sugarcoat ... Full Review

Bob Graham
January 25, 2002
Bob Graham, San Francisco Chronicle

A daring, free-spirited and ultimately moving performance by Benjamin Bratt lies at the beating heart of Pinero. Full Review

Rita Kempley
January 25, 2002
Rita Kempley, Washington Post

This character was an abusive swine. Perhaps it would be best to let his art stand on its own.

Eric Harrison
January 25, 2002
Eric Harrison, Houston Chronicle

It can be a bit confusing, but it's also rewarding. Full Review

Desson Thomson
January 24, 2002
Desson Thomson, Washington Post

A well-intentioned, reverential but unenlightening portrait.

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  • what actor/actress links the following movies: Miss Congeniality, Blood In Blood Out Bound By Honor, and Pinero?  Answer »
  • How much does Martin Vail deal with the DA for Joey Pinero in Primal Fear ?  Answer »
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