| The spaceship from Crumbs |
Crumbs isn't exactly a horror film, even with its post-apocalyptic Nazis wearing toy mouse ears and masks. Crumbs isn't exactly sci-fi, even with its rusting, floating space ship with a large metal hand on top. Crumbs isn't even a comedy, regardless that highly sought-out ancient relics include a plastic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle figure or a copy of Michael Jackson's Dangerous, on vinyl. Maybe the best way to describe Crumbs is by the teaser on the DVD case: A romantic surreal post-apocalyptic adventure in Ethiopia. Even better may be to forget describing this movie at all. No matter how you try, you're not going to be able to do it.
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Director Miguel Llansó was born in Spain, but this is not a Spanish movie following the advice of a location scout for an exotic locale. Instead, this is a more intimate showing of Ethiopia, not as an unusual location, but as a living, breathing place in its own right. Llansó celebrates Ethiopia even while questioning larger global issues.
Instead of a motion picture, consider Crumbs more of a motion painting -- a series of impressions, emotions and suggestions. To be sure, the movie does have a story, if an exceptionally strange one, but not a story where every part neatly fits together. Crumbs is absurdist, but unlike a David Lynch movie, many of the scenes are strangely charming.
The plot of Crumbs is only one part of the story, with visuals and sounds not simply enhancing but actually becoming significant parts of the overall story. The world of Crumbs is a lost one, where the significance of items has shifted and meanings have been assembled in odd ways. The fear of this movie is not the fear of horror, but more the fear of missing out, or making the wrong choice, or realizing you don't really understand who you are. I'm stretching the boundaries of Fear with Beer, but for this movie, I'll make an exception. This movie is something special. Nonetheless, at this point you'd probably feel cheated if I didn't give you at least a bit of the exterior plot, so here goes:
| Gagano encounters an old man with an old sharp blade |
That is why I avoided any kind of plot summary until now. Crumbs holds meaning, heart and emotion, but not in ways any summary can capture. To enjoy Crumbs, you must let go of a preconceived notion of how a story should be told and simply flow with the movie's unraveling, easier to do because of the engaging personalities of Daniel Tadesse (playing lead character Gagano) and the beautiful Ethiopian actress Selam Tesfaye, both who can express full ranges of emotion without speaking a word. If you can relax your mind enough to accept the world of Crumbs, you will be rewarded with a wonderful, strange, and even insightful journey. I, for one, am exceptionally grateful to have stumbled upon this most unusual film.
To learn more about Crumbs, visit the IndiePix Films website, where you can stream it for only $3.99.
| Santa, lost and alone in Ethiopia |
Tusker Finest Quality Lager
| Tusker lager from Kenya, Africa |
I'm not much for lagers, but perhaps the exotic idea of an African beer paired with the unusual experience of the movie Crumbs changed my perception for the better. The truth is, I'm not certain I would have tasted this beer the same had it been a domestic lager, but it wasn't, and so I didn't. I'm okay with that.
The beer was both familiar and yet different. It was like asking someone, "Have your eyes always been green?" The beer wasn't unusual, but it also wasn't the opposite. Perhaps, you would say, it was mildly disorienting, perfect for the movie. Sometimes the beer in Fear with Beer matches perfectly with the movie.
Adding to my relative enjoyment of this beer was a slight sour taste, only a hint, giving this otherwise quiet lager a personality. The color of the beer was ridiculously light, even more than a traditional mainstream American light beer, but luckily it didn't taste as thin as it looked. If you don't drink this one out of the bottle, consider a frosted or colored glass as it truly isn't much a looker of a beer. As lagers go, this was pretty good. While not my general preference in beer, there was something exciting about drinking a Kenyan beer.
Also, it's got great label.
The beer was both familiar and yet different. It was like asking someone, "Have your eyes always been green?" The beer wasn't unusual, but it also wasn't the opposite. Perhaps, you would say, it was mildly disorienting, perfect for the movie. Sometimes the beer in Fear with Beer matches perfectly with the movie.
Adding to my relative enjoyment of this beer was a slight sour taste, only a hint, giving this otherwise quiet lager a personality. The color of the beer was ridiculously light, even more than a traditional mainstream American light beer, but luckily it didn't taste as thin as it looked. If you don't drink this one out of the bottle, consider a frosted or colored glass as it truly isn't much a looker of a beer. As lagers go, this was pretty good. While not my general preference in beer, there was something exciting about drinking a Kenyan beer.
Also, it's got great label.
