The work avoids a variety of clichés and attempts to take seriously its young protagonists' lives and dilemmas.

| Feb 16, 2021

Few films capture how hostile and enormous the world can be for children and the defenses they create to cope, but this easygoing, lovely film does, to great, tender effect.

| Feb 4, 2020

Peter Sollett's remarkable movie about the lives and loves of Latino teenagers in New York's Lower East Side is an unexpected treat.

| Jan 11, 2018

| Original Score: A+ | Feb 18, 2012

Writer/director Peter Sollett refreshingly avoids placing characters into lazy traps of pregnancy, betrayal or violence. These are intelligent, thoughtful teenagers whom you'll fondly remember as struggling through desires and instincts.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 17, 2010

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 7, 2008

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 30, 2006

| Original Score: 4/5 | Dec 6, 2005

ultimately, it lacks the backbone, the thematic heft, to be anything beyond a sweet redemption story

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 30, 2004

Sollett isn't crusading or exploiting the kids' sex lives. His approach is reminiscent of John Cassavetes's Shadows in its emphasis on sibling bonds and improvised dialogue.

| Apr 30, 2004

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jan 24, 2004

Better than many other films in the dreaded 'coming-of-age' genre, but is not exceptional.

| Original Score: C+ | Jan 18, 2004

Even though Raising Victor Vargas offers a fairly standard teen love story, it's also a solid, intriguing look at an immigrant family in New York.

Full Review | Dec 1, 2003

| Original Score: B+ | Nov 11, 2003

Peter Sollet's "Raising Victor Vargas" is a special film, independent in the truest sense of the word.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Oct 14, 2003

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 20, 2003

It's fun to see the characters struggle with maintaining their tough personas while wanting to let someone into their hearts.

Full Review | Original Score: A- | Sep 18, 2003

A beguiling coming-of-age story set in New York during one sweltering summer when teenagers are seesawing between bravado and timid vulnerability in the face of sex's mysteries.

| Sep 15, 2003

it becomes, quite possibly, one of the best films about teenage confusion and closeness ever made.

| Original Score: 4/4 | Sep 12, 2003

A keenly observed, captivating, and innately funny portrait of teenagers coming to terms with their sexuality.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Sep 9, 2003