RAGAMUFFIN is based on the true story of Rich Mullins, a musical prodigy who rose to Christian music fame and fortune only to walk away and live on a Navajo reservation. An artistic genius raised on a tree farm in Indiana by a weathered, callous father, Rich wrestled all of his life with the brokenness and crippling insecurity born of his childhood. A lover of Jesus and a rebel in the church, Rich refused to let his struggles with alcoholism, addiction and women tear him away from a God he was determined to love. As he struggled with success in Nashville, depression in Wichita, and oblivion in the Four Corners, Rich became one of the first of his time to live honestly amidst a culture of religion and conformity.
A 3D animated film centered on chasing fame in the humble stomping grounds of middle school. Unfortunately, while the protagonist dreams big, the plot falls short and fails to capture even a semblance of diversity.
The film basically says she was a lost cause from the start. We don't get a sense of who Marilyn was.
Not every silence is empty. Some are filled with things too heavy for words.
In the film adaptation, director Jon M. Chu turns each musical number into a massive show stopper, with grand set pieces and a wealth of diverse dancers. Yet, in this attempt to show reverence for the people of the Washington Heights barrio, Chu, or maybe more specifically those in charge of casting, left out a crucial part of the community, Afro-Latinos.
Tran Quoc Bao succeeds in telling us a story about martial arts, human decay, and friendship. The originality shown by his filmmaking is admirable and brings fresh air to the classic Chinese martial arts genre.
