Things have fallen apart.
There was the war and other catastrophes, but the real problem is that everyone just lost interest in living. Only a few children have been born since the war, the population has fallen catastrophically.
The world is dying.
Everyone clings to the last shreds of the old world: a record album, a toy plastic sword, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle pendant. These are treated as sacred relics and scavengers go out and hunt through the wastelands in the hope of finding some great treasure.
One of these scavengers, Candy (Daniel Tadesse), lives in an abandoned bowling alley with his girlfriend, Birdy. He longs to reach the alien spaceship which has been hovering high above a distant city since the end of the war, while Birdy dreams of Michael Jordan.
Whom they worship in the little shrine in their home.
Ever since I watched Miguel Llansó’s incredible cyberpunk comedy, Jesus Shows You the Way to the Highway, I’ve wanted to see his first feature, Crumbs.
It isn’t like his second film.
Now, I’d more or less expected that, but rather than a weird and witty reality-twisting Sci Fi comedy, we have a surreal and often comic post-Apocalyptic quest through a world which is falling in on itself.
It is also a romance, although a very different sort of romance than what Hollywood tends to give us, one which is darker — and yet perhaps more real than our standard pablum romance.
Once again, the real standout is Daniel Tadesse: he is perhaps the most unlikely hero you could pick for a post-Apocalyptic film as he is frail and small and awkward. But his face radiates a deep sense of sadness, although there is often a touch of compassion as well.
Although the most powerful image in the whole film is the alien spacecraft, hovering mysteriously in the sky in almost every shot, with its tiny saucer and gigantic hand atop a tall tower.
I’ll admit it, I like his second film far better than his first, but it is a beautifully made film, with a surreal edge and a touching story. Many of you may find it far too arty, but its touching love story may make Crumbs a good choice for any science fiction geek’s date night.
And you won’t even have to leave the house. After all, it’s available for free on Tubi…
rivets on the poster 