Film Forum

U.S., 1993
Directed by Amir Naderi (Director of the Iranian classic, THE RUNNER)
Starring John Wojda, Daniel Oreskes
Approx. 110 min. 35mm.

Out of work and deeply in debt, George (John Wojda) descends from Washington Heights to the Lower East Side by subway and on foot, searching for an elusive acquaintance who represents his last hope of raising $1,200 to pay his rent.

35mm print courtesy Bahman Maghsoudlou, International Film & Video Centre.

Reviews

“A realistic, keenly felt, and richly detailed movie about American urban life in the mid-’90s.”
– Jonathan Rosenbaum, Chicago Reader
Read full review.

“Manages to become a mesmerizing quest for meaning simply by projecting Manhattan into the foreground and its narrative in the background.”
– Andrew Sarris, The New Yorker

“Iranian-born director Amir Naderi, who has been living in New York City since 1987, has a fine eye for the city’s avid, woebegone landscape. In MANHATTAN BY NUMBERS, his first American feature, he lets his camera roam from Washington Heights to the Lower East Side, and he always finds fresh ways of seeing things.”
– Peter Rainer, Los Angeles Times