I first saw Barrio 19 on MTV late one night last year, and was very impressed with it. As the product description states -
"High-octane MTV series BARRIO 19 showcases young urban talent from around the globe. Each adrenaline charged half-hour episode takes you on a journey into the heart of urban street culture. Witness a variety of street-based performances, extreme stunts, and freestyle sketches--by skaters, magicians, footballers, martial artists, MCs, break dancers, and more--set to a pulsating original soundtrack."
This is an absolutely spot on perfect statement about the DVD that i will go into in much more depth and detail.
Some of the main countries featured in the episodes are Japan, England, France, Germany, Brazil and Mexico. Each country has a variety of performers bringing a varied and extremely talented group of clips and skills to the final product of Barrio 19. I must admit, the most talented country it seems is Japan, with loads of freestyle football tricks, some by a boy who can be no older than 7 and a group of MCs/beatboxers who produce amazing sounds with their mouths. There is however, a favourite clip of mine from Brazil.
There are things that happen in this DVD that first of all you wouldn't be able to imagine, then secondly once you had imagined them, you wouldn't believe are possible. For example, when i was younger, i used to enjoy playing with yo-yos during the phase that went around. I got just about good enough to do the tricks "walk the dog" or "rock the baby". The people from Brazil, in Barrio 19, would be able to walk the dog, rock the baby, brush their teeth and make the dinner all at the same time as jugglin TWO yo-yos with one hand, they are that talented. Here is a link to just one of the featured clips on the DVD. -
It is obviously the sort of talent that doesn't get showcased very often, and these are just normal people from Brazil, in their home streets performing faultlessly what they can clearly do best. I think MTV have done well to bring these sorts of useless, but absolutely amazing nonetheless talents to our screens.
Another of my favouite clips comes from Brazil. In the beginning you plainly see a man walking down a very busy street playing a harmonica...there is nothing interesting about that. Until he starts beatboxing at the same time!! Using the air he is expelling to continually play the harmonica. Beatboxing and harmonica playing are both talents in themselves. Combining the two makes them both even more impressive. He also manages to finish it off with a little rap and a very confident smirk to go with it. This was the first time i had seen anything like this, and whilst writing this review decided to have a look on youtube for simiar clips. The majority of which are equally as good. But none surpass the quality. Again, this is another thing that would not be shown unless MTV had taken the initiative to do so. Another very alternative talent that has been shown to the masses.
In general, the things shown on the DVD are very specific talents and not everybody would be able to appreciate all of them. If you don't play football, you won't be as amazed by some of the freestyle football tricks, and the same goes for those of us who do not skateboard or BMX. However, in watching the clips, there is no way that i cannot have respect for each and every single one of the performers, simply because of the raw talent that they have nurtured.
Freestyle football, in my eyes has got to be one of the most impressive things. I have got about as much skill and grace as a tin of baked beans. So it makes it even better to watch. Though i do envy them!! The majority of this talent is showcased from Japan. As i mentioned befored, there is also a young boy showing off his skills. Which are just as impressive as his older counterparts. Flicking the ball around and balancing it places where it probably shouldn't work. It's almost as if the ball is on the end of a string and they can't do anything wrong. The reality is that this must have taken hundreds of hours of practice over a long period of time.
The DVD doesn't have any particular order to it. It skips from country to country and talent to talent seamlessly and smoothly throughout the duration of each 30 minute episode. Each of the episodes has a wide variety of stunts, talents and skills and are a good mixture. This means that there is something really interesting on every single episode. This was obviously done because it was originally a series, and the producers wanted to keep the viewers interest throught the duration. There are episodes overall and each of them holds your interest through the whole thing.
There are also some extra features on the DVD these are - Beatbox Breaking Parkour Magic of Dynamo Bombing Barrio Barrio Extra Time Making of Title Sequence
They are all quite interesting, especially the Parkour and Magic of Dynamo. Parkour a.k.a. free running, consists of people running through an urban environment jumping from pillar to post over benches across rooftops and so on. It is a very athletic activity and takes a lot of skill, strength and concentration. This added extra illustrates this point very finely and shows a few very good tricks from the experts. The magic of Dynamo extra follows Dynamo, a street magician from Leeds. As he goes round doing alternative/urban card tricks, adding in body-popping and some extreme card shuffling. You may have seen him before on Jonathon Ross, he is very talented, and the added extra gives you an extra glimpse at his skills.
Both Parkour and Dynamo are also featured in the main episodes of the DVD. Other things that haven't been mentioned are - Breaking/B-boys - Dancing Beatboxing Extreme Tight Rope Walking - Walking above the streets of Rio De Janeiro, on a thin rope without even a pole to help his balance. Martial Arts BMX Skateboarding Urban Golf Freestyle Basketball And alot more less frequent skills.
Overall, this DVD and series is obviously aimed at an alternative market to other "talent" shows. It is aimed at youths and teenagers, mainly the younger market. But there is no reason why other people of other ages would not enjoy some of the tricks involved in the DVD. Just because of the sheer talent and skill the people have, and the respect they demand for being able to perform these so well.
I probably wouldn't recommend this to most people. However there is an amazing set of talents within the DVD. If you think this is the type of thing you like, look at some clips on youtube. Just type in Barrio 19 and browse through what you like the look of. The DVD format seems as though it is like a series of virals so if you do buy it, it will feel familiar.
With a good upbeat soundtrack to go along with each clip, you get very involved on many levels. Your hearing and visual side, as well as the amazement that you feel from watching the things that they are doing!
I bought mine for around £5 from www.play.com a good few months ago now. But it looks as though the price has gone down a lot since then. Hovering around the £3 mark at the moment. Its definitely a bargain at that price.
More details
Characters / Performances
Outstanding
Special Effects
Standard
Soundtrack
Outstanding
How does it compare to similar films?
Not applicable
How does it compare to others by the same director?
Not applicable
Value for Money
Excellent
What format are you reviewing?
DVD
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