geniuswoman Reviews

Crash (I) (2004)

evocative and poetic

[10/10 · 15 May 2005]

Crash is poetry in dramatic form. Is it realistic? Yes, but not in a way that we should expect to meet these characters in our daily routines (just as we wouldn't expect to experience the same kind of love/lust/longing depicted in poetry). Its realism and power is derived from clearly articulating the intensity of the frustration and intolerance that lives beneath our consciousness. This movie should not be berated for its hyperbolic characters and coincidental encounters – they should be recognized as devices (brilliantly employed) to generate a sense of involvement with and personal responsibility for the reality of racism and selfishness. Racism is the central theme of this film, but it is not an end in itself. Rather it is the means through which we see how we construct and cling to the notion otherness (whether it be race, class, or religion) in order to define our sense of self. The different segments and encounters are mean to illustrate how connected we all are, simply by virtue of being alive with a common purpose – to be happy.

When Will I Be Loved (2004)

a waste of my life

[1/10 · 5 February 2005]

When Will I be Loved is a film that attempts at many things but fails miserably. The title in itself is misleading in that it gives the impression that the main character, Vera, is searching for love that's owed her. In fact, Vera appears to have everything one could possibly wish for in life, including two caring doting parents. Why she chooses to engage in self-destructive and vindicative behavior is a complete mystery. The only reasonable conclusion one could make is that she is bored with with the perfectness of the life into which she is born and wishes to disturb that somehow by becoming attached to a hustler. This movie is pretentious and ridiculous beyond reason. The characters are written in such a way that they are not even recognizable as human, but rather just qualities. Non of the characters are accessible on any level, which makes the viewer completely apathetic to the outcome of their dilemmas. I, for one, was angry that I had wasted my time with a film that was not pleasing on ANY level. In fact, as the previous reviewer mentioned, the music that we are inundated with is distracting and serves no particular purpose. A bitter revolting taste still remains in my mouth from having watched this one hour ago.