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Spoken Word (film)

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Spoken Word
Theatrical release poster
Directed byVictor Nuñez
Written by
  • William T. Conway
  • Joe Ray Sandoval
Produced by
  • Karen Koch
  • William T. Conway
Starring
CinematographyVirgil Mirano
Edited by
  • Victor Nunez
  • Justin Geoffroy
Music byMichael Brook
Production
companies
  • New Mexico Media Partners
  • Luminaria Productions
Distributed byVariance Films
Release dates
  • March 1, 2009 (2009-03-01) (Aguascalientes Festival)
  • July 23, 2010 (2010-07-23) (United States)
Running time
116 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

Spoken Word is a 2009 drama film directed by Victor Nuñez and starring Kuno Becker, Ruben Blades, Miguel Sandoval and Persia White.[1]

The writers include William T. Conway and Joe Ray Sandoval. The film was produced by Karen Koch and William T. Conway. It opened in New York City at Big Cinemas Manhattan 1 on July 23, 2010, and played in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Sunset 5 on July 30, 2010. [citation needed]

Plot

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Cruz Montoya is a Latino spoken-word artist who works in San Francisco. He returns home to Santa Fe, New Mexico to reconnect with his dying father and his brother. He is finding himself losing his "voice" as he spirals downward back into the dysfunctional life of drugs and violence he had left behind.[2]

His brother is judgmental. Cruz is approached by his former boss Emilio, who works as a local drug dealer. Cruz falls into the familiar patterns of his past while ignoring the increasingly anxious phone calls of his girlfriend. Cruz is also suffering from bipolar disorder and uses alcohol to self-medicate.[1]

Cast

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Reception

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On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes the film has a score of 46% based on reviews from 13 critics, with an average rating of 5.4/10.[3] On Metacritic, Spoken Word have a rank of 56 out of a 100 based on 13 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[4]

Nick Schager of Slant Magazine gave the film one star out of 4,[5] while Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave it 3 out of 4 and called Spoken Word "A rich and textured film".[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b Catsoulis, Jeanette (July 22, 2010). "The Difficulties of Escaping the Past". The New York Times. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  2. ^ Scheck, Frank (July 22, 2010). "Spoken Word — Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  3. ^ "Spoken Word (2009)". Rotten Tomatoes. Flixster. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  4. ^ "Spoken Word (2019)". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
  5. ^ Schager, Nick (July 21, 2010). "Review: Spoken Word". Slant Magazine.
  6. ^ Ebert, Roger (August 4, 2010). "A poet at a loss for words". Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved August 17, 2021.
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