Life among poorly educated Dominicans in the Washington Heights section of New York City is depicted in the independent film Manito, directed by Eric Eason. The film begins and ends at dawn on a subway platform. The humor provided from time to time in the movie is overwhelmed by the tragic circumstances of the characters. Manuel “Manito” Moreno (played by Leo Minaya) is an eighteen-year-old boy who has attained success by graduating from high school with honors and securing a scholarship to attend Syracuse University. But the film focuses more on his hunky older brother, Oscar, Junior (played by Franky G), who, along with the rest of his family, did not receive a high school diploma. Instead, Junior recently was released from prison, where he took the rap for his drug-dealing father, Oscar (played by Manuel Cabral). To honor his brother, Junior rents a hall and arranges for food, music, and refreshments. Although grandpa Abuelo Moreno (played by Hector Gonzales) chips in, Oscar foots most of the bill, in part thanks to an advance payment from Mrs. Wendorff (played by Tiffany Yates), a gringo woman, to repaint her brownstone and to submit to his muscular body. Manito’s graduation party is well attended, including school officials, extended family members, school buddies, and a girlfriend, Marisol (played by Jessica Morales), whom he casually invites at the last minute. After the party is over, he takes his girlfriend home on the subway, runs into two punks on the train, tries to evade a beating, and in self-defense (thanks to a gun supplied by Marisol) kills one of the punks. The wheels of justice do not spin favorably for Manito, however. Police assume that Manito is just another drug dealer from the same family. His public defender attorney (played by Barbara Resnick) urges hiring a “good lawyer.” The private attorney wants a large retainer, and the bail is set too high. Manito is quickly transferred to Rikers, pending arraignment. Junior knows that Manito is not tough enough to endure life at Rikers, perhaps fearing that he will commit suicide before trial, so he attempts to find bail money. The gringa refuses to make a final payment because he forged his insurance documentation, and Manito’s father will not open his well-stocked safe. In the conclusion of the film, Junior flies into a rage, does something that he regrets, and goes to the subway to decide what to do next. Manito serves to explain the economic plight of Dominicans in New York, the way in which the criminal justice system discriminates against them, and how American material aspirations checkmate traditional Dominican family values. MH