Director: Sean Baker
Screenplay: Sean Baker, Darren Dean
Starring: Prince Adu, Karren Karagulian, Aiden Noesi, Kat Sanchez, Victoria Tate, Keyali Mayaga
Year: 2008
Country: USA
BBFC Certification: TBA
Duration: 101 min
Whilst Sean Baker’s Prince of Broadway hit festivals around the same time his previous film, Take Out, was released in selected theatres, there was around 4 years between productions. In fact, Baker made Prince of Broadway whilst growing bored of waiting for Take Out to get picked up.
He and associate producer Victoria Tate weren’t quite sure what to make next but they knew they wanted to make something set in the Garment District in New York, an area containing many shops that sell counterfeit goods. So the pair went there with a camcorder, filmed the streets and interviewed people working in the district.
During this research, they initially found it difficult to get people to talk to them, due to the illegal nature of some of the activity in the area. However, a lot of people suggested they speak to a man named Prince Adu. They eventually tracked him down and found a hugely enthusiastic hustler who was keen to help out, due to having ambitions to be an actor. Not only did he ask to star in the film and tell them stories of his experiences, Adu said he’d help the team source the locations and cast members they needed to make an authentic portrayal of life in the Garment District.
And so, Prince of Broadway began to take form. The film was finished and released in 2008, and went on to win numerous awards on the festival circuit. Baker didn’t quite find the success he’s enjoyed in recent years with the likes of The Florida Project and Anora, the latter of which bagged him several Oscars, but the filmmaker sees Prince of Broadway as his breakout. The independent awards it won helped pave the way for what was to come.
Following the success of Anora, The Criterion Collection are going back to Baker’s roots and releasing Prince of Broadway on Blu-ray. I’m a huge fan of the filmmaker, but hadn’t seen this particular title yet, so I requested a copy to review.
Prince of Broadway tells the story of Lucky (Prince Adu), a charismatic but down-on-his-luck Ghanaian immigrant navigating the bustling streets of New York City by selling knock-off designer goods. His hand-to-mouth existence takes a sharp turn when his ex-girlfriend Linda (Kat Sanchez) unexpectedly reappears and leaves him with a toddler (Aiden Noesi), his supposed son that he never knew existed.
Suddenly burdened with the responsibilities of fatherhood, Lucky’s already precarious life becomes even more complicated as he grapples with raising a child while trying to maintain his hustle and avoid the authorities.
Meanwhile, Lucky’s Armenian boss, Levon (Karren Karagulian), who runs the counterfeit operation, faces his own struggles with a disintegrating marriage. As Lucky navigates the challenges of instant fatherhood, he forms an unlikely bond with Levon, and the two men find themselves connected by their shared outsider existence and the unpredictable turns their lives have taken.
Like all of Baker’s films, Prince of Broadway focuses on life on the fringes of society and treats its subjects without judgement. Prince and Levon might be selling illegal goods but they’re just trying to make a living. Prince isn’t what you’d call a great dad either, doing some pretty reprehensible things in places, but you can usually sympathise. Being a dad myself, I know I’ve found the pressures can get too much, causing me to do some foolish and regrettable things (nothing too heinous, don’t go calling social services!). Plus, the child is thrust on him without warning or even firm evidence that it’s his.
Even Linda, the child’s mother, is shown to be in a difficult situation that caused her to dump her child on someone who previously had no clue of its existence. She’s depicted as remorseful, graphically shown in one scene where she throws up after arguing with Prince about the child (though vomiting scenes are a signature of Baker’s that I wish he’d give up on – I have a phobia of vomit).
Baker also does a wonderful job of keeping his stories as naturalistic as possible without falilng into the ‘poverty porn’ trap. Yes, the characters in his films, including this one, often have it hard and struggle in life, but they don’t wallow in misery and there isn’t a direct call in the film to support these people. Baker just shows life for what it is and these characters get on with things because they don’t have much of a choice.
Aiding this is a healthy dose of humour. I don’t mean the film is filled with gags and skits, or that it makes light of the lives of its characters. It’s just that humour is allowed to come naturally through their interactions and some of the relatable situations they find themselves facing.
There’s a lot of warmth in the film too. Whilst Prince is initially terrible at caring for the young boy, you gradually see a beautiful bond grow between the pair. There are some touching yet understated moments between Prince and Levon later on too.
I didn’t find myself falling in love with Prince of Broadway quite as much as Baker’s other films though. One reason for this was that I found the scenes with Levon and his wife (played by associate producer Victoria Tate) less vital, particularly in the first half of the film. They felt like Baker was simply contrasting Prince’s boss’ more comfortable life with his employee’s more difficult one. I kept wanting to jump back to Prince when these scenes were on. However, as Levon’s life falls apart and more of a connection grows between him and Prince, the intercutting felt more justified, leading to the poignant denouement I mentioned earlier.
Technically speaking, the film is pretty rough around the edges. It was shot on the streets of Manhattan using a lower-end digital camera by Baker himself, and occasionally you get some unintended camera bumps and poorly exposed shots. However, this adds to the naturalism, feeling like we’re merely observing these people rather than watching a clearly crafted story.
The naturalism is justified too. As mentioned, Baker and Tate spent time gathering stories in the garment district by speaking to people there. Baker then went away with his friend Darren Dean to put together a loose script based on what had been observed. Then, on set, improvisation was encouraged around this. With a good proportion of the cast members being from that area and world (most notably, Prince was a hustler in the garment district), this helps create a vivid, wholly believable portrayal.
So, Prince of Broadway is another fluid, natural drama from Baker that focuses on life in the margins. As usual for the filmmaker, it’s captivating, warm and brimming with life without sugarcoating the harsh realities being depicted.
Film: 
Prince of Broadway is out on 5th May on Blu-Ray in the UK, released by The Criterion Collection. This is a film that looks quite rough, due to its low-budget, digitally-shot roots, but, judging by the clips shown in the special features, this new restoration is a giant leap forward in picture quality. The digital master has now been put onto film and then scanned back in. This gets rid of the dated, old-tech digital look. Purists might complain that it doesn’t look as originally released, but they’d be missing out on a much more appealing image that was approved by the director. Plus, Baker says he would have done this originally, if he’d had the money. Some sound effects have been replaced/added too, for a similar reason, and the restored audio sounds good to my ears.
DIRECTOR-APPROVED BLU-RAY SPECIAL EDITION FEATURES
– New 4K digital restoration, supervised and approved by director Sean Baker and restoration supervisor Alex Coco, with 5.1 surround DTS-HD Master Audio soundtrack
– Two audio commentaries: one featuring Baker and the other featuring producer and cowriter Darren Dean, associate producer and actor Victoria Tate, and actor Karren Karagulian
– New introduction by Baker
– Archival interviews with Baker and actor Prince Adu
– Two documentaries on the making of the film
– Restoration demonstration featuring Baker and Coco
– Trailers
– English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
– PLUS: An essay by film critic Robert Daniels
– New cover by Drusilla Adeline/Sister Hyde, with additional photography by Ivory Woods
Baker provides a solo commentary, recorded in 2011 (four years after the film was shot). He takes us through the production in detail, revealing how it was often a family and friends affair, on top of locals getting involved through the help of Adu. I loved listening to the track, despite Baker regularly apologising for being tired and struggling to get through the recording.
The other commentary track features producer and co-writer Darren Dean, associate producer and actor Victoria Tate, and actor Karren Karagulian (with Baker occasionally chipping in, as it was recorded by him in his apartment). With it being a group track and recorded whilst the trio work through a bottle of wine, it’s higher energy than Baker’s. It’s a lot of fun but still gives a strong idea of how the film was put together.
There’s also a near-hour-long making of titled ‘Meet the Hustlers’. This features interviews with several cast and crew members and takes a deep dive into the production. It’s a shame Adu wasn’t available for a formal interview like most of the contributors, but he does feature in the pre-production and on-set material. There’s a little crossover with the commentaries but this still contains plenty of new anecdotes.
A shorter archival video features interviews with Baker and Adu. It’s more of a promotional piece where they discuss what the film is about and Adu talks about his life.
The reunion piece is another wonderful addition to the set. It gives you a chance to see and hear from the cast and crew now. Adu is thankfully involved this time, and it’s fun to see a now-grown-up Aiden Noesi, who played the baby in the film.
The new introduction by Baker is a 10-minute piece that clearly describes how the film came about and how it developed. It’s a handy cover-all if you don’t have time for the wealth of commentaries and making-ofs.
In the restoration featurette, Baker and restoration supervisor Alex Coco talk us through the process. This is an interesting watch.
I didn’t receive a copy of the booklet, unfortunately.
So, Criterion have put together a superb package, stuffed to the gills with material that is fun to watch whilst giving you a strong idea of how this low-budget gem was produced. Highly recommended.
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