Review: 7 Boxes

23rd February 2014

Victor works in the municipal market in Paraguay as a wheelbarrow boy. When we first meet Victor he is dreaming of a life far removed from his day to day existence. He dreams of being in the movies, being on screen and being famous. However, in his actual life he’s a market porter who makes money transporting goods, boxes etc around the market for customers for a fee. He catches up with his sister who has a mobile phone with an inbuilt camera that she wants to sell on behalf of a friend. Victor wants this phone and all his dreams come true when he is asked to transport 7 boxes in return for $100, more money than Victor has ever dreamt of, or more precisely the other half of the $100. The man who promised him the money tears the bill in two before sending Victor on his way with the merchandise, telling him not to lose any of the boxes, and that he will receive payment once he brings the boxes to the appointed place. So starts Victor’s adventures in the market carrying 7 boxes of which he’s ignorant of the contents and being drawn into a crime that he knows nothing of.

If you think that introduction was complicated then strap yourself in as there are so many back stories and laugh out comic moments in this inventive thriller from the Paraguayan film maker, Juan Carlos Maneglia. Occassionally whilst watching 7 Boxes I couldn’t help but think of Pulp Fiction and the perverse, comic episodes that intersected those violent scenes. 7 Boxes is nowhere near as violent as Pulp Fiction but the comedy in it is very close to it.

I was completed absorbed in this film and totally forgot about the subtitles. The film, whilst managing to pull off comic moments doesn’t shy away from showing the bleak side of life in Paraguay and what people will do to make enough money to pay for their sick child’s medical bills or to eat. Poverty and scarce resources give rise to people making harsh choices and the director manages to get us to feel a little sympathy for the antagonist, Nelson, who ultimately decides to do what he does because of parental love.

Forget the subtitles, this is a must watch thriller with friends, on a date or just home alone. It is a welcome balance of thriller and comedy.

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