Film choked with good intentions
By Julie Brown-Micko

Kitchens are hot, loud, busy places to work. But amid all the clang and bang, there’s time to let the mind wander. Do you ever wonder what the guy next to you is thinking? What’s his story? Director/Writer Steve Barron asks in his strange, arty film, Choking Man.

Quiet Jorge (Octavio Gómez) washes dishes at the Olympic Café located in bustling, diverse, chock-full-of-crazies Jamaica, Queens. “It’s the crossroads of the world!” boasts gregarious, kindly café owner Rick (Mandy Patinkin). But Jorge can’t connect to anyone around him. Crippled by the loss of his homeland, by his pathological shyness, and by his limited English, Jorge develops a rich interior life depicted by otherworldly animated sequences. The images from the “how to aid a choking victim” poster over the dishwashing station become a touchstone for his imagination and provide a frightening bridge to his real life.

There is romance, but little plot. Energetic, friendly Amy (Eugenia Yuan) makes it a point to protect Jorge from the harassment of cook and ex-con Jerry (Aaron Paul). Jorge fixates on Amy’s small gestures of kindness with a lover’s ardor and begins to despise Jerry, who tries to win Amy’s affections. At home, Jorge is alternately tormented and comforted by an abusive roommate whose badgering pushes him to the edge of violence. All the while, rabbits, clowns, Virgin Marys, and the labored breathing of the “choking man” fill his waking dreams.

Director Steve Barron populates the Olympic Diner with a brilliant cast of characters that are uniquely New York but pleasantly familiar: the jittery older waitress, the bullying line cook, the quirky regulars and sullen customers. Details of the café are dead on, down to the dish of pastel colored mints, the stainless steel toothpick dispenser and the clack and clatter of buffalo china in the dishwasher. The roar of the train and babble of street people provide an ongoing soundtrack.

But sometimes the meandering pace, the lack of action, and Jorge’s stifling shyness make the movie seem nearly pointless. Barron beats a singular thematic drum that endlessly repeats: Jorge’s lonely.
We get it. Now what? The climax provides a slight easing of tension and the possibility of change, but that’s about it. It may satisfy some viewers and frustrate others.

This movie is a bit like ordering the Wednesday fish special at the diner. You might get something wonderful. Or it could be canned tuna and salmon about to turn. Savor or spit, there will be something about it you can’t quite put your finger on. Order Choking Man at your own risk.