East Side Story (I) (2006)
10/10
Best LGBT-focused story in film we've seen in the past couple of years
13 June 2007
My partner & I saw "East Side Story" at NYC's NewFest in June 2006.

The movie is a well constructed take-off on the Italian-Puerto Rican ethnic conflict in the musical "West Side Story". Instead of the historical focus on those two ethnic groups in NYC, ESS dramatizes the current fault line between middle class Latino residents in LA's Echo Park neighborhood and well-off gays & lesbians who are buying up their homes, gentrifying their area, and threatening to displace them. The specific characters and basic storyline are believable and the movie entertains you throughout the movie.

Of the 15 or so films we screened at that NYC LGBT festival last year & this month, "East Side Story" was by far our favorite (We also liked "Forgiving the Franklins", "Coffee Date", "Outing Riley" and "Bubble", a gripping but HEAVY film by the Israeli director of "Yossi & Jagger".).

Question: does anyone have an idea of when / if "East Side Story" will appear in (art) theaters OR be released on DVD? We'd really like to see it again and, if possible, purchase a copy.

If not, I'll contact the NewFest organizers to see if they can answer this question.
17 out of 22 found this helpful. Was this review helpful? Sign in to vote.
Permalink

Recently Viewed