A still from Water and Power, based on a play by local theater troupe Culture Clash, that examines family and Chicano politics in Los Angeles.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES — The
father, a longtime Los Angeles Department of Water and Power worker, has
high hopes for his twin sons, Gilbert and Gabriel Garcia. One day, he
thinks, they’ll become the movers and shakers of the city.
He nicknames them “Water” and
“Power,” and imparts an important lesson about family: Without power,
there is no water. Without water, there is no power.
Water and Power,
a new film written and directed by the acclaimed Los Angeles theater
troupe Culture Clash’s Richard Montoya, explores how that bond is
stretched to the breaking point in adulthood. Montoya adapted it from a 2006 Culture Clash play of the same name that won raves when it debuted at the Mark Taper Forum.
The film opens in Los Angeles on Friday, May 2. It had a premiere party at Grand Park last week.
In the film, Gabriel
(played by Nicholas Gonzalez), has grown up to become a hotshot
lieutenant with the Los Angeles Police Department. He instigates a
murder and needs help from his brother (Enrique Murciano), now a state
senator, to survive the repercussions.
Although none of the
three Culture Clash members appear in the movie, Montoya’s film echoes
the play in picking apart issues of corruption, the growing influence of
Chicano politics and brotherly sacrifice, and wraps it all in a
bittersweet love letter to the city.
The story follows
Gabriel as he holes up in a seedy motel, high on drugs and emotionally
torn apart after shooting a man who was recently released from prison.
Gilbert can use his political pull to protect his brother, but that
means potentially killing a cornerstone project to bring greenery to the
Los Angeles River, betraying the hopes of his East L.A. community in
favor of private developers who want to build luxury condos on the
riverfront.
“Deep down, this is a
Chicano movie filmed under the bridges and on the streets and in the
shadows of L.A., but there’s a lot of romance in the way I filmed it,”
Montoya said. “At the same time, this is very critical on Chicano
society. It’s not enough to have Latino ambition. What happens when that
ambition collides with our responsibilities to family and the city?”
Sundance Student
Montoya began toying with a Water and Power
screenplay in 2007. He admits that the original drafts “just didn’t
work,” but he gained his footing after his selection to the Sundance
Institute, an extension of the famed film festival that offers new
filmmakers guidance and mentorship.
With input from directors such as Catherine Hardwicke (Thirteen)
and writers such as Walter Mosley, the “stage version was beat out” of
the script, he said. The biggest challenge was translating the language
of the play to a different medium, which meant cutting out monologues
(“My babies!” Montoya joked) and finding ways to communicate ideas
without words.
“After thirty years
of directing and writing for the stage, it was humbling to work with
such brilliant screenwriters and mentors,” Montoya said.
The film was shot
over 12 hectic days with a slim $600,000 budget. With those resources,
Montoya tried to shoot a gritty, stylized film that captured the
mysterious swagger of classic noir while adding a cultural twist. He
channeled his “inner Michael Mann” as the crew sped around the city at
night, Montoya said.
Culture Clash’s Siguenza,
who played Gabriel in the play, said Montoya’s efforts to capture the
swirling currents of the L.A. political scene shows. He also compares
the feel of the movie to Quentin Tarantino’s idiosyncratic first film, Reservoir Dogs.
“Richard is a new
voice in Chicano cinema, and a lot of his sensibilities show in the
film,” Siguenza said. “There’s just such a unique take on language and
interactions and characters beyond what you expect from a ‘normal’
Chicano film or the usual cop film.”
While Water and Power,
whose producers include actor Edward James Olmos, is Montoya’s alone,
Culture Clash’s Salinas (who portrayed Gabriel’s wheelchair-bound
confidante Norte Sur in the play) also said that the film is an
extension of the theater troupe’s influence and work over 30 years.
“It shows off corners
of L.A. that you don’t want to step into, and a mixture of subject and
characters that just doesn’t exist in our film history,” Salinas said.
“It is a perfect supplement to Culture Clash’s story and aesthetic of
being an underdog and trying to put unheard voices out there.”
Montoya sums up the
film by noting that he wanted to confront Chicano culture and politics
head-on, criticizing in a way that will make viewers reflect on their
own influence and work.
That criticism will
only become more relevant, he said, as the city’s political sphere and
its connection to the Chicano community continues to ebb and flow over
time.
Twitter: @eddiekimx
© Los Angeles Downtown News 2014
