Alejandro, a 12 year-old Latino orphan, lives alone and makes ends meet working in New York's Iron Triangle. Between toiling in his boss's "chop shop" garage and working to learn the automobile trade, he is rarely able to enjoy the life of a pre-adolescent boy. When his sister Isamar leaves her foster home to join him, Alejandro devotes his energy and ambition to building a better life for them both. Set in the industrial wasteland along the outskirts of Queens, Chop Shop puts a refreshing spin on the myth of the American Dream. Compared to both City of God and Luis Buñuel's Los Olvidados, Iranian director Ramin Bahrani's (Man Push Cart) film is "a flawlessly observed piece of street realism, and an unforgiving parable of American economic reality." (Jonathan Romney, Screen Daily)
