After John's absent father is struck by a stray bullet, Primo takes it upon himself to educate the young boy about the street code—one predicated on respect and enforced by fear. Primo has known nothing except the streets of Brooklyn since he joined the Bloods at the age of twelve — both in the film and in reality. While John debates whether to accept this life, Primo must decide whether to abandon it all in order to become a better husband and parent. Five Star plunges into gang culture with searing intensity during those New York summer weeks when the oppressive heat seems to envelop everything. Director Keith Miller examines these two men's lives with a quiet yet pointed distance, deftly avoiding tired clichés with its unwavering attention. Distinctions between fiction and reality are purposefully blurred, allowing the story of these two guys to reverberate beyond the streets, as they grapple with the question of what it means to be a man.
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After John's absent father is struck by a stray bullet, Primo takes it upon himself to educate the young boy about the street code—one predicated on respect and enforced by fear. Primo has known nothing except the streets of Brooklyn since he joined the Bloods at the age of twelve — both in the film and in reality. While John debates whether to accept this life, Primo must decide whether to abandon it all in order to become a better husband and parent. Five Star plunges into gang culture with searing intensity during those New York summer weeks when the oppressive heat seems to envelop everything. Director Keith Miller examines these two men's lives with a quiet yet pointed distance, deftly avoiding tired clichés with its unwavering attention. Distinctions between fiction and reality are purposefully blurred, allowing the story of these two guys to reverberate beyond the streets, as they grapple with the question of what it means to be a man.
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