Asphalt City

Homenaje a los paramédicos desinteresados ​​por su compromiso con un trabajo extremadamente exigente psicológicamente. Especialmente en Nueva York, donde los yonquis rescatados y los criminales los odian más que los aprecian. Más estrés y horror que en Al límite de Scorsese, intensificado en cada escena como sea posible. Estado de ánimo melancólico constante de desesperanza, actuación trabajadora, impulso dramático implacable, pero también una leve superficialidad y préstamos de otros lugares. Me gustaron más las escenas íntimas de tocar cuerpos desnudos, sanando todo lo malo a su alrededor. [Cannes FF] (23.05.2023)

Brutal, chilling, distressing, uncomfortable, dark and very realistic. It's fucking awesome!! It's a bit like End of Watch, but with paramedics and I have to say, I was pretty engrossed. The story is very simple, but luckily here it’s not about the plot. We have the likable Ty Sheridan who starts out as a Rookie paramedic and gets the seasoned veteran Sean Penn as his partner (a decent return!) and the whole movie we watch him go from case to case in the tough city of New York and it is a doozy! From junkies to drug addicts. According to the film, it seems like a very unenviable job where patients fuck you hard, colleagues make pranks putting a dead dog in your locker, you get into very difficult and challenging situations where you sometimes have the opportunity to make life decisions. The brutal atmosphere of New York City is laced with violence through and through. Gunshot victims, heart attacks, dog bites, premature births, gang violence, schizophrenics and victims of domestic violence. Add to that great acting, solid dialogue and some twist and turns! Great stuff. 8/10 (19.04.2024)

La otra cara del sueño de salvar vidas humanas, contada desde el punto de vista de un sanitario novato que es destinado a Nueva York como compañero de un paramédico experimentado, pero que poco a poco va perdiendo no sólo la ilusión inicial, sino también su propia cordura y fe en la humanidad. Porque juntos van con la ambulancia a los casos más difíciles en las calles de Brooklyn, que consisten principalmente de narcotraficantes apuñalados, víctimas de tiroteos y violencia doméstica, sobredosis de drogas, cadáveres que yacen allí desde hace mucho tiempo, etc. La película muestra deliberadamente sólo lo peor que un paramédico (a quien los créditos finales rinden homenaje) puede experimentar mientras está de servicio, para dejarle un impacto psicológico. Esto hace que la película, debido a la dirección depredadora y a las actuaciones precisas, sea un espectáculo bastante intenso y cautivador, pero al mismo tiempo suena manipulador, lo que al final también subraya su desgarrador final. (07.10.2023)

My first screening at the Cannes Film Festival and quite a powerful experience. We follow the day-to-day practices of emergency responders in New York City, and how this work affects their mental health and personal lives. The protagonists Ollie (Tye Sheridan) and Gene (Sean Penn) go on all sorts of cases, so we can get a rich idea of the variety and complexity of their calls (from homeless trouble, domestic violence, unwanted help with drug addicts, to street shootings and many more). What rescue workers everywhere have to deal with inspires great admiration in me in general (even on home soil, of course), but I feel like America is on a whole other level. On the one hand, this film is a tribute to these people, but at the same time it shows how terribly unrewarding this work is and how much of a toll it increasingly takes. And then there is the question of the "divine" decision of whether or not it makes sense to save a life in some cases? I don't want to give anything more away, this film is challenging but definitely worth it. I was very impressed by the music by Nicolas Becker and Quentin Sirjacq; and as for the acting performances, Sean Penn is classically very good, but Tye Sheridan leads the way, I found him incredibly good here. [Festival de Cannes 2023] (20.05.2023)