Like the one other reviewer thus far, I too was left angry and frustrated by this film, but for a completely different reason: because the director accomplished exactly what I think he set out to do, and did it well.
Young love is shown in a modern way, without the archaic (and today, pretentious) formality of Shakespeare. Instead we see the very believable silliness and stupidity of a young teen's infatuation - it needs no reason to exist, it simply does. The slightly older, slightly more life-experienced girl does not know what to make of this goofy, gentle foreigner from the other side of the bridge, and her reactions vary as she tries to balance curiosity, cultural pressure, self-interest, and perhaps some affection.
And the director plops this budding flower of a tale into a steaming, fetid pile of modern adult reality, a world in which the Montagues and Capulets would come across as urbane and civil, a world less of Romeo and more of Tromeo. Our world. Racism, macho misogyny, and acceptance of psychopathic violence as the norm, these headline a chorus of social ills that make a normal childhood impossible.
It hurts to watch the story unfold. It should.
Regarding overall quality, it's not fantastic, but more than adequate. Despite a setting and culture unfamiliar to many of us -- here in middle America, Brazilian-Paraguayan history is absolutely never brought to mind -- the people and events of Don't Swallow My Heart, Alligator Girl are believable, familiar by type from the hourly news cycle or one's own experience. For myself, at least, the modern setting intensifies this tale's emotional impact in a way that a historical or fantasy setting wouldn't; a somewhat straightforward delivery makes the impact more tolerable.
And the story is interesting enough. What becomes of Joca and Basano's young love in this environment? It's worth your while to watch and find out.
