Crosstown (Miriam Kruishoop, 2013): US draft

Reviewed by Jillian P. Halverstadt. Viewed at the Metro 4 Theatre, Santa Barbara International Film Festival.

This was one of the first films I was able to see at the SBIFF and it captivated my interest throughout the entire screening up until I exited the theatre.  Made up of a mainly female crew, the gritty and raw style of the film was exciting to see.  Some big names in the film include Vivica A. Fox and Manny Perez.

Inspired by true events, this film digs into the conflicts suffered by two intertwined families in Los Angeles, CA.  Angel (Angel Amaral) and Jazmine (Paige Hurd) are two young teens whose feelings for each other are not allowed in their community because of their different races.  Angel’s family are illegal immigrants and struggling to create a better life in America.  The father Jesus (Manny Perez) is willing to do anything to be able to work legally and provide for his family so when U.S. Military recruiters promise him and his family papers in exchange for the enlistment of their eldest son, Beto (Mario Ardila Jr.), it is a sign from God to them.  This choice leads to their world turning upside down and a ripple effect takes place on everyone including Angel and soon enough, Jazmine and her family as well.  Themes of family and the social issues of illegal immigration are evident.  The dangers of gangs and group hate are a dramatic part of this films development.

A lot of the visual design reflects these sad tones with some shadowed and grainy shots towards the end of the film when things start to fall apart.  I thought it all added to the way the audience should be processing each scene.  I also thought that the acting in Crosstown was remarkable, as a member of the audience it was hard to take myself out of the action going on in the plot because it was so believable.  Then, when the film was over and we were told that the actors had been in the crowd during the film I could not stop my applause.  These young actors had to perform in some pretty powerful scenes that were hard enough to watch at times.The characters speak both Spanish and English in the film so for people who do not like to see too many subtitles this is a good balance.

Many people have mentioned, and I agree, that the style of Crosstown and its form was very similar to the movie Crash (Paul Haggis, 2004).   I saw a lot of the same themes and issues as well as the fact that both movies were set in the Los Angeles CA area.  I have always been a huge fan of Crash so it makes sense that my feelings towards Crosstown are the same.  It angers me that with all of our advancements, race is still an issue in our world. As Director Miriam Kruishoop stated at the Q&A after the films premier, “We all wake up with the same sun”.