Lost Soul (Alma Perdida)

Lost Soul is a heartfelt although considerably less than satisfying drama about another good kid in the barrio lost to drugs. Seventeen year old Jesus (Robert Maisonet) comes from a loving and close-knit Latino family--a rather overworked cliché which is used to make the boy's later descent into hell all the more tragic and confusing. We're shown Jesus hanging with friends from the hood and finally succumbing to the invitation to try heroin just once. Of course, the abyss is just around the corner: Jesus and his best friend, Hector, are caught up in the increasingly desperate scramble for the next fix, leading them into petty crime and misery. In the end, Hector dies of an overdose, and Jesus is left on the street, pathetically trying to shake the monkey from his back. Despite its obviously earnest attempt at gritty urban realism (including realistically raw dialogue), Lost Soul offers few real insights into the problems presented, most of the characters are a little too pat to be totally convincing, and parts of the production are very poorly miked, making some of the dialog difficult to hear. The video might be useful as a discussion starter in high school social studies courses or other young adult programs, but there are undoubtedly more effective works on this topic out there. Not a necessary purchase. (G. Handman)