Crashing Cinema Cynicism

In the pre-Sienna time, the husband and I used to go to movies as part of our past time. There was silence between us when we saw a good movie. Then when we saw a bad one, we could not stop complaining. More likely than not, we moved on to see another one to make up the regret. We haven't seen many movies in the past few years, let alone the good ones. That's when I developed what I call "Cinema Cynicism."

I found a way to change the situation. I got into DVD world. Only the Oscar winning, the controversial, or the critically-acclaimed movies got picked. This way, I figured that I would have a better chance of moving away from my cynicism. Last week, I covered three titles "Brokeback Mountain", "The Memoir of Geisha" and "Crash."


I suspect "Brokeback Mountain" was a success story because of it's political / social sympathy towards same-sex union. To me, it's a very boring love story. That kind of union is so otherworldly and so pure. Keeping the union was unattainable therefore ultimately desirable. It never has to touch the real life of a mundane union between a man and a woman. It doesn't even contain the conflicts of the most classic "Romeo and Juliet."

I don't even want to get into the awkwardness of "Geisha." But "Crash" is a rare find. The world is becoming more and more integrated. People, or, it's just me, are not going to be satisfied with a linear story line. Multi-faceted life scenarios and multi-layered personalities have become a reality. And "Crash" was a good effort made towards revealing that reality. I like it. It gives me the hope to save myself from my cynicism.