THE 86 GOES TO HOLLYWOOD
The Venezuelan action film, The 86 (Los Ochoseis), is now an official selection for the 17th Beverly Hill Film Festival to take place at the legendary TCL Chinese Theatres in the heart of Hollywood. The film narrates the story of “Chino” (Ernesto Ceballos) leader of the gang The 86 and his struggle to cope with sudden rise to power, lethal rivals, betraying women and self destruction. The gang operated in what used to be called “red zones” of Caracas, Venezuela, back in the late 80’s being “barrio cotiza” (cotiza ghetto) their stronghold. Why The 86? It’s been told by some of its surviving members that their actions were so splashy that the media started taking notice. When a reporter asked a local lady in Cotiza how many members the gang had she replied: “I don’t know! It’s like a bunch of them…like 86 or something!! Like 86 crazy men!” Next morning the newspaper had it on its front page: “The 86 terrorizes Cotiza!” The gang were now officially identified and famous. Yet fame also brings challengers, and soon another gang called “Panoramas” decided to take over their territory creating havoc for the residents of Cotiza. The government created a “secret” dead-squad called “Los Pantaneros” to deal with such criminals in ruthless ways that rivaled those of the criminals themselves. Javier Mujica, director, says he wanted to make an action film able to stand tall alongside works from British director Guy Ritchie. “I wanted to create gritty and fast paced action sequences in order to keep the action going, the excitement, the anxiety; Ritchie’s films have this very British sense which I love with colors that go from greys to blues and in a way that gives you a cold feeling. I wanted to use our culture’s warmth and richer colors to create our own version of such grittiness” One thing many critics have pointed out is the performances. The entire cast shows off with strong performances in which no matter the role, big or small, they made it shine. Many cameos from seasoned actors such as Loly Sanchez, Miguel Angel Landa (knows as the “Venezuelan Morgan Freeman”), Gonzalo Cubero and Maria Elena Infantino are some of the best moments in the movie. It is worth mentioning the work of Carlos Antonio León who plays “Casanova” a character whose intentions are very hard to define until the very end of the film. Producer Thomas Piedra, who also plays “Paco,” was a friend of some of the members of The 86 and the one who came up with the idea of making this movie. The cast includes Martha Tarazona as the manipulative “Yessenia,” Marco Alcalá as “Diogenes”, Erick Ronso (who shines as “Cachito”), Jose Roberto Diaz as “Don Gato,” Laureano Olivares as “Terminator”, Pedro Indriago as “El Menor,” Alí Rondon as “Saul,” Malena Gonzales as “Llona,” and many others. The movie is currently in theatres in Venezuela. The Beverly Hills Film Festival will screen The 86 on Saturday April 29th at 3:30 pm. For tickets and information please visit http://beverlyhillsfilmfestival.com/box-office/
