7 Boxes (2012)
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7 Boxes Movie Review
7 Boxes is a 2012 Paraguayan thriller film directed by Juan Carlos Maneglia. It’s a very effective thriller flick that is highly entertaining to watch.
A wild chase ensues when a rival carter tries to stop a teenager from delivering seven crates to the other end of a Paraguayan street market. This is a very simple film in terms of storytelling. Basically, you have these crates and all of the action revolves around their mysterious contents. The movie still works despite its immense simplicity because it was executed in a truly exhilarating, cinematic manner.
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Paraguay doesn’t have the richest cinema out there, but 7 Boxes deserves its reputation as one of the country’s best efforts. In this thriller, Asuncion in 2005 was superbly realized as this very believable place at this very specific time. The crime elements in the story are grounded in reality and quite gritty.
But the city is also depicted in that heightened, meticulously detailed and manic way, reminiscent of the works from science fiction and the comic book medium. It is this aspect to this movie that is its most appealing quality. It’s a genre flick through and through, and it proudly wars its influences and that intense tone from start to finish.
The acting performances are only serviceable with not a single actor or actress being in any shape or form superb, but the characterization is excellent, especially for this type of movie. Most of the characters that we meet in this story are very well realized, believable and quite memorable. Victor and Liz are the best of the bunch and their romance was very charming.
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7 Boxes is at its best when it’s focusing on the action. Yes, it’s fast-paced to the extreme with way too many implausible and/or overly suspenseful plot points, but those worked due to that exhilarating action, stunning set pieces and camera work that was very lively and accomplished, leading to an immensely cinematic viewing experience. The directing is particular confident throughout while the emphasis on phones with cameras as a novelty was a great touch too.
7 Boxes is a Paraguayan thriller that has a an overly simplistic storyline, but it works because the execution is superb. It’s a genre flick that is wholly entertaining, exhilarating in its action set pieces and admirably suspenseful throughout. The highlights are its superb directing, accomplished cinematography and a heightened, almost comic book-like depiction of the city of Asuncion that really worked.
My Rating – 4.5
This is the 18th film in my American Cinema Marathon where I will watch one film from each American country every day. Next up is 🇨🇷.
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