Film Review: 7 Boxes (2012) by Juan Carlos Maneglia

April 2021

Text by Ignacio Hitters

“The rules are simple - deliver or die.”

Offering as much style as substance, 7 Boxes (7 Cajas, 2012) is still one of the most entertaining crime thrillers to come from Latin America, even a decade after its production. Expertly crafted with a budget of only $650.000, Maneglia (Paraguay, 1966) chooses calculated tension and well-scripted character development in favour of overblown action scenes and CGI special effects. 

In 2004, Juan Carlos Maneglia had a vision. He wanted to bring the infamous Mercado 4 (this big street market in the middle of Asuncion, Paraguay, that he used to visit quite often) to life. This project slowly shaped into what became 7 Cajas, his first movie. Mixing socioeconomic commentary with intertwining plot points à la Tarantino or Guy Ritchie, the film proved to be a hit, even in international contexts, having won a Silver Condor between quite a bit of critical acclaim and doing fairly well in the box office. Maneglia is one of the few figures in Paraguayan cinema to gain worldwide recognition for his works, and 7 Cajas is where it all began.

The story follows Victor (excellently portrayed by a then-debuting Celso Franco), a 17-year-old cart-pusher working for whoever can pay for his services. Living between the poverty of Market 4, he finds meaning in life by staring at the TV, thinking of the lives he doesn’t have. His deepest dream is to one day see himself on the screen. After spotting a cell phone with a video recorder being sold in the market, he decides he’s going to find whatever way to purchase it, even if it means carrying seven boxes of unknown goods from point A to point B. He’s been told to take care of the boxes with his own life, but how far is he willing to go in order to do so? 

If you’ve ever been to some of the less-privileged areas of South America, the setting will be pretty familiar. The market is big, ugly and chaotic, but incredibly lively as well. People from different statuses and cultures frequent the alleyways, and the language spoken is mainly a mixture between Spanish and Guaraní, which are the two official languages of Paraguay. It’s cool to see such a setting portrayed in an accessible way, without ever becoming too exploitative or preachy. Kudos to the photography director, Richard Careaga, for doing a fantastic job at this. The editing is very impressive, as well. Too bad the original soundtrack doesn’t always fit the film’s mood (except for a few moments, like when loud, overblown cumbia is played during a fast-paced chase scene - that part was awesome!). The rest of the production more than makes up for it, so don’t let it turn you off from the film. 

While a bit predictable at points, the story involves an impressive amount of twists and turns that end up fitting quite well into the whole storyline. Every character is well developed, and while taken to slightly absurd extremes sometimes, most of the development pays off. This absurdity actually ends up being part of the film’s charm and offers some much-needed comedic relief and kick-ass entertainment. In a way, the movie’s overall tone reminds me of Guy Ritchie’s now-classic “Snatch”, or “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels”. Quite dark themes, but done with enough style and a light-heartedness to make it a thoroughly enjoyable thriller. 

Even though the film is clearly inspired by Tarantino and Ritchie’s splatter-action-comedy styles, one could argue that 7 Cajas covers more interesting topics than the usual Pulp Fiction clone. Most characters are not evil, even when doing things that would be considered highly immoral. In a dog-eat-dog world, they are just victims of their circumstances trying to survive however they can. From needing money to buy medicine for their son to purchasing a phone as a form of escapism, every character has a reason behind their actions. This is a great example of writing multidimensional characters properly. Other characters, though, are just complete imbeciles with no redeeming qualities, but not necessarily evil to the core. Evil doesn’t really exist in 7 Cajas. Instead, “evilness” is represented more like a mixture of circumstances and emotions, including poverty, ambition, delusion and stupidity. 

The main focus of the movie is not even the boxes themselves, even if the title suggests so. The film is really about Victor’s relationship with the media. It’s about how this kid, who has nothing, believes that the only way he will ever be something is if he sees himself on TV. That’s the only way in which he feels he can transcend who he is. Everyone watches TV, so to someone who has nothing, that’s the only way of being something. While appearing on a screen will probably not solve any of his problems, the fantasy of it all is larger than anything else he cares about. So, to him, media is his safe haven, owning a phone is his form of status, and being “someone” is his true goal. 

Another interesting plot point is how the most desperate characters have very flawed perspectives on value. As payment for carrying the boxes, Victor is handed a $100 dollar bill (worth a lot of money in Paraguay). The catch, though, is that Victor receives half the bill before delivering and the other half after. This means that the $100 bill essentially becomes worthless, as a broken dollar bill does not count as an acceptable form of currency. So, in reality, he’s doing all the work for nothing. The “villain” of the story, Nelson, is trying to steal the boxes from Victor because he thinks he’ll make a lot of money off them when in reality, he doesn’t even know what really is in them. So, he could also be doing all this work, even murdering people in cold blood, for absolutely no reason. While these presented thematics are relatively simple, the film manages to do it subtly enough to keep things interesting. There’s also a lot of heart found in this movie, including some very wholesome moments. Yes, it’s a bit all over the place. But it works surprisingly well.  

While 7 Cajas has captured the attention of festivals and critics worldwide, most mainstream audiences have never heard of it, which is why I would consider 7 Cajas to be a true hidden gem. It’s never overly ambitious or pretentious while being profound, and at the same time, it’s a kickass thriller that barely let us go from the tight grip it has on the viewer. Thoroughly entertaining, all the way through, is already more than one could ask for. Add to this the nuance and interesting themes, and you got yourself a hit movie. It’s a shame more people won’t see it.