Dark Passage
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Chinatown,
The Other Barrio is modern noir based on actual events — in this case, the tragic Gartland Hotel fire of 1975, which many believe was set by landlords. The script swirls around money, corruption, and the little people who get burned when a finite resource is at stake. There’s also a beautiful woman who may or may not be really bad news. The screenplay was adapted by director Dante Betteo along with Mission photographer Lou Dematteis — both of whom act as producers. The original story was penned by San Francisco poet laureate Alejandro Murguía, who also founded the Mission Cultural Center. And the movie stars Richard Montoya, co-founder of Culture Clash, as a roughshod housing inspector with a chip on his shoulder because the old neighborhood is being stripped brick by brick.
The Other Barrio is not a documentary, it’s a detective story. But, as with most good noir, the city plays as much of a role as any actor, and well-crafted glimpses of shifting murals, vanishing storefronts, and the much missed drag bar Esta Noche will certainly serve posterity.
— Silke Tudor
415-641-7657
