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A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

Crime · Drama · 2006

Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.

Movie details

A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints

“Sometimes the only way to move forward is to go back.”

2006 Crime · Drama 1h 44m

Critical arithmetic

One number, for now.

TMDB

6.5 / 10

Community rating

Dito Montiel, a successful author, receives a call from his long-suffering mother, asking him to return home and visit his ailing father. Dito recalls his childhood growing up in a violent neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., with friends Antonio, Giuseppe, Nerf and Mike.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Mikey and Nicky

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Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Dito Montiel

Written by

Dito Montiel

Shia LaBeouf

Shia LaBeouf

Young Dito

Channing Tatum

Channing Tatum

Young Antonio

Robert Downey Jr.

Robert Downey Jr.

Dito

Rosario Dawson

Rosario Dawson

Laurie

Melonie Díaz

Melonie Díaz

Young Laurie

Chazz Palminteri

Chazz Palminteri

Monty

Dianne Wiest

Dianne Wiest

Dito's Mother

Court is in session

Put A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Auteur Devotee

“Form is the argument.”

Every composed frame and deliberate cut is evidence that control can be thrilling in its own right.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“Technique in search of a pulse.”

Immaculate construction is still construction. The film may be too busy proving its craft to feel alive.