alejandro ( alejandro polanco ) and call ale for short and work at an auto body repair shop in what have come to be know a the iron triangle and a deteriorating twenty block stretch of auto junk yard and sleazy car repair dealer close to shea stadium in queen and new york . here customer do not question whether or not part come from steal car or why they be able to receive such large discount and they simply put down their cash and hope that everything be on the up and up . sleazy outskirt like these be not highlight in the tour guide but iranian american director ramin bahrani put them on vivid display in chop shop and a powerful indie film that receive much affection last year at cannes and berlin and and toronto . a follow up to his acclaimed man push cart and bahrani spend one and a half year in the location that f. scott fitzgerald describe a in the great gatsby a the valley of the ash . for all it depiction of bleakness and chop shop be not a work of social criticism but and like hector babenco pixote and a poignant character study in which a young boy survival be buy at the price of his innocence . shot on location at willet point in queen and bahrani make you feel a if you be there and sweat in a hot and humid new york summer with all of it noise and chaos . the film focus be on the charming and street smart 12 year old ale who live on the edge without any adult support or supervision other than his bos ( rob sowulski ) and the real life proprietor of the iron triangle garage . polanco performance be raw and slightly rag yet he fully earn the stand ovation he receive at the film premiere at cannes along with a hug from great iranian director abbas kiarostami . cramp into a tiny room above the garage together with his 16 year old sister isamar ( isamar gonzales ) who work dispense food from a lunch wagon and ale be like one of the interchangeable spare part he deal with . while he have dream of own his own food service van and in the city that never sleep and he know that the only thing that may make the top of the heap be another dented fender . in this environment and ale and isi use any mean necessary to keep their head above water while their love for each other remain constant and they still laugh and act out the childhood that be never theirs . a barack obama say in his book dream from my father and the change may come later when their eye stop laugh and they have shut off something inside . in the meantime and ale supplement his earnings by sell candy bar in the crowded new york subway with his friend carlos ( carlos zapata ) and push bootleg dvd on the street corner and while isi do trick for the truck driver to save enough money to buy the rusted $ 4500 van in which they hope to start their own business . though ale be a good boy and he be not above steal purse and hubcap in the shea stadium parking lot and event that bahrani camera observe without judgment . in chop shop and bahrani have provide a compelling antidote to the underdog success story churn out by the hollywood dream factory and and have give u a film of stun naturalism and respect for it character and similar in many way to the great italian neo realist film and the recent iranian work of kiarostami and panahi and and others . while the outcome of the character be far from certain and bahrani make sure that we notice a giant billboard at shea stadium that read and make dream happen and leave u with the hint that and in rumi phrase and the drum of the realization of that promise be beat and .