(Retsu Motoyoshi: Filmmaker/Photographer)
In 1998, Bill Clinton was serving his second term as president, and between the Gulf War and the September 11 attacks, political stability seemed like a dream in retrospect. The movie “Caught Stealing,” set in New York that year, is currently being released in the United States.
The film opens with the narration, “1998 is the year of the home run championship between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa,” and is a movie that begins and ends with baseball.
The main character, Hank, played by Austin Butler, one of the most handsome actors of our time, wears a Giants cap from his hometown of San Francisco, and is a die-hard Giants fan who always ends his phone calls with his mother by saying, “Go Giants!”
However, in New York, where the Yankees and Mets are both teams with passionate fans, Hank is overwhelmingly a minority, and Hank becomes embroiled in a conflict with the diverse minorities gathered in New York.
*There are spoilers for the movie below, so please be careful if you are interested.
This work features many characters unique to New York.
Hank, the main character, and the drunk men who frequent the bar where he works are white. Hank’s girlfriend Yvonne, played by Zoe Kravitz, is biracial.
Luz is a punk rocker from England who ends up involving Hank and Yvonne in a crime. This crime is investigated by a black female detective from the East Village ghetto.
The gang chasing Hank, who happens to be in possession of a secret, is a Latin American named Colorado (nicknamed). Russians Alexei and Pavel from Brighton Beach in southern New York. The characters are extremely diverse, including Lipa and Shmuli who are Orthodox Jews.
As a Japanese person, it’s a little disappointing (?) that there aren’t any Asians here, but Chinatown and Chinese people are depicted in the flashy Jackie Chan-style action scenes in which the Hanks engage in scenes, and they appear, albeit at the back end.
Hank (Austin Butler) works at a downtown bar.
Go to gallery page
