Reviews

I came across this on cable television in Australia, perhaps not so ironically at the same time that Israel was bombing Hamas in Palestine in January 2009. Possibly a deliberate programming choice - perhaps not.

This is an interesting film. Without knowing anything about its production, it is apparent that some of the footage is real, and many of the cast are actual civilians affected during the Israeli-Hezbollah/Lebanon war of 2006. What is central to the film is the developing relationship between Zeina, a woman looking for her son, and Tony, a taxi driver with a colourful past. I must admit I did particularly like that the two main characters are not perfect, and indeed their flaws further serve to foster a sense of identification with them. They are not your usual Hollywood war victims. Zeina is a woman who has sent her young son to the South of Lebanon to escape a messy divorce and supposedly philandering husband. Tony the taxi driver is someone trying to make a spare dollar by selling black market medication and there are several references to a brother with a criminal history in Israel. What I most enjoyed about "under the bombs" was the raw reality of the story and the lack of morality and bias. The victims of all sides of the war are clearly shown and no one is attached to any particular side. Nada Abou Farhat is a naturally beautiful central actor, and I mean "naturally" in that she doesn't present some kind of blow-dried version of war. She is a powerful actor being able to portray the anguish of a mother seeking a lost child. Similarly Georges Khabbaz is a real character - not your sexy leading man - in fact he is a relatively average looking man, not unattractive, but definitely not with stereotyped leading man good looks. He clearly passes as a realistic representation of a Lebanese taxi driver and is quite likable. He really does look the part! Also, the support cast are clearly locals, and I got the sense that many of the stories told were real. The child actors are particularly good.

The relationship between Tony and Zeina is interesting, but with some flaws. It is clear that Zeina is a beautiful and quite sexy woman, wearing a figure hugging dress that seems somewhat out of type for the south of Lebanon, but this is okay because it further creates Zeina as a individual ... obviously a woman from the South of Lebanon who has married a 'man of the world' and left her traditional life behind. I wonder whether Tony falls a little into a stereotype of the Arabic male (I would be interested in Arabic men's opinion on this), in that whilst he feels for Zeina's predicament, he sees her as a sexual being. It is often the case that people form intense relationships in traumatic situations, but it is a wonder whether Tony's feelings are totally realistic. In one scene, he is lamenting that Zeina is "a woman looking for her son but who won't acknowledge me!" (paraphasing) when a journalist approaches him for a fare while Zeina is looking for her son. I wondered whether this was a little unrealistic. Would an Arabic man let out emotions like these after knowing a woman for two days? Maybe ... but I wondered whether the romantic relationship was paying lip service to traditional cinematic storytelling. I actually feel the film would've benefited more from this romantic tension being far more 'beneath the surface'.

What I did really love about this film was its simplicity. It is a simple demonstration of the suffering of people in war. Zeina's grief, when she finds her sister is dead, is palpable and intense to watch. Similarly, the end of the film is bitter and lends itself towards the reality of war.

I would recommend this film as a good example of cinema verite and an important contribution to showing the victims of war in a way that doesn't use the usual soft focus, blow dried Hollywood stereotype. Nice work!

Gen_x

Sorry for the lame summary title! Was trying to reference Vietnam war movies and failed miserably ... unlike this film which pretty much gets it!

I loved Tropic Thunder but I must admit I am a big fan of Ben Stiller and think that Zoolander is hilarious. Also I am a huge Apocalypse Now fan, and the references in this film were great for Vietnam movie fans. One of the funniest introductions to any film with the fake trailers (Tobey Mcguire!). Great character development based on Hollywood stereotypes ... I am surprised that I haven't seen any reference to the Lazarus (Robert Downey Jr) character being based on Russell Crowe (mentions rugby, assaults people) and the Portnoy character is a dead ringer for Chris Farley. Nice little "in" jokes and references (comment about the Jack Black - Portnoy - character being "uninsurable" could have been about Downey Jr himself!) and I loved all of the clichés about action films.

For anyone who likes Ben Stiller and loves Vietnam war films but can laugh at them!

Very funny!

I must admit that I didn't run out to see this film during its cinematic release in Australia, and only ended up viewing it on Cable TV. My main criticism of Crash is that its theme (racism) is too obvious. Subtly is an art form in cinema and difficult to achieve. Crash presents a view of Los Angeles as a city full of racism, but to its credit, examines all of the characters and gives them depth. The racist cop is also represented as a caring son, the 'liberal' minded cop ends up perpetuating all that he hates. However, despite the relatively interesting dichotomies in many of the characters, I still had difficulty with the 'blatent' nature of the theme. There were basically no scenes that didn't re-in force the basic tenet of the film, leaving the viewer with a feeling of being slapped around the face by the end. Maybe this was the aim? Maybe American culture has become so obsessed with racism, that these kinds of representations are necessary in a film of this kind. Despite my hesitations, I still felt that Crash has a lot to offer with a fantastic ensemble cast. I loved the Iranian shop owner and the Latino locksmith and the interplay that racism isn't always white vs everyone else. That racism is a multi-layered reality and, despite its abhorrence, may be easier to understand, just not easier to forgive.