Synopsis

The film Crumbs, released in 2015, was the seminal film of Miguel Llansó. Crumbs takes place in a post-apocalyptic Ethiopia where the population has dwindled and there is little hope for a better future. It is a unique piece of Afrofuturism (kind of) that follows the journey of a disfigured main character Candy (Daniel Tadesse) who journeys to find Santa Claus in order to wish for a seat on the newly functioning spacecraft. He encounters many obstacles along the way including junkers wearing Nazi insignia and other bizarre costumes who rob him of the leftover material objects of the “old world” he uses as currency. It bends the conventional realm of possibilities while Candy traverses vastly diverse landscapes and encounters bizarre characters and leaves you questioning: what is actually real?

The film opens with an explanation of the apocalypse that struck the world. There was a major worldwide war that led to the eradication of civilized society and possible genetic repercussions. After this war, people looked down on having children and it became a “lower class” phenomenon that only uneducated people would do. The setting reflects the damage of the war with a barren desert filled with remnants of junk from the previous world. The earth is yellow, scorched, and barren in this desert space with liquids seeping out of the surface. It’s clear that the surface is polluted and unsafe. This desert is contrasted with the lush forest that Birdy and Candy inhabit. The forest serves as a divider between the uninhabitable desert and the untouched lush forest where Candy and Birdy are separated and alone. The setting creates the tone and solidifies the backdrop of a post-war world where there is a dwindling population. However, it also begs the question: why is there such a lush untouched area of land within walking distance of this desert wasteland? And it is also very confusing how plausibly people randomly show up together after presumably living extreme distances away while only having walking or in some rare cases horses as modes of transportation.

In their seclusion, Candy and Birdy feel the power of the spaceship that has been floating in the distance since the war as a remnant of the “old world,” reigniting signaling to them that the ship is turning back on. For years, the ship has been stationary and Candy believes that he came to this planet on it and that he is an alien on the planet. He is disfigured and has an inferiority complex in believing that he will never be enough for Birdy. Candy’s entire life consists of finding pieces of junk in the wasteland desert that could be considered “money” or a currency and using them to gain food and other helpful accommodations. Birdy makes art out of junk to occupy her time. They live in an abandoned bowling alley in the middle of nowhere, and the bowling ball return begins to work again one day after not having electricity for years. Birdy thinks this is a sign that the spaceship looming in the distance is once again turning on after years of inactivity and the magnetic field it's creating is causing the electricity to return. This prompts Candy to set off on a journey to find the witch in order to find Santa Claus in order to wish for a seat on the spaceship (presumably for Christmas?).

Even though this is the entire plot of the film, Candy’s journey is when the logic and plausibility of the film really start to breakdown. There’s never any explanation of where the spaceship came from or if they arrived on the space ship. The space ship also looks like a piece of junk barely staying together. The world building and plausibility really fall through because it is supposed to be based around this mythical spaceship that doesn’t really seem to be that high tech. It also calls into question: why does it have to be shaped like a hand?? These are questions that should be answered by a work of science fiction especially when it is essential to understanding the plot. The film never quite does the right amount of subtle clues and riding the line between overtly giving information and leaving the audience to make their own assumptions... which is never a good jumping off point in a work of science fiction that is meant to explain and use technology and world building to bring in the audience.

Pacing

This movie has terrible pacing. The whole plot is a journey and the director took that a little too literally as he has the main character, Candy tramping through forests, deserts, rain, and other weird backdrops for an extremely long time. It made the film extremely hard to watch because I would get distracted and bored. This, paired with the extreme confusion about the entire construction of the world and spacecraft led the film to disaster in my opinion. Additionally, there is little to no dialogue besides the bizarre encounters between Birdy and Santa Claus through the bowling machine (yes you read that correctly) and Santa Claus and Candy. The lack of dialogue paired with the many many walking montages made the movie very slow. It felt like there was nothing propelling the plot (what little there was) forward. He would walk and walk and walk and have bizarre interactions with people that didn't always involve speaking. In one instance, Candy meets a man near the railroad, and he gifts him a little figurine of what looks like baby Jesus. Candy takes this to mean that his partner, Birdy, is pregnant and that he is going to be a father and that his son would be crowned "King of the Stars," which is another reason they must board the spaceship. With the pacing, the biggest takeaway is there are only so many walking scenes I want to watch...

Importance of Material Culture

Throughout the movie, there is an emphasis on the finding of material objects from the "old world" that can be used as currency in their post-apocalyptic new world order. Candy gives a "Witch" that tells him his future a Michael Jackson album that was supposed to "pay for his wedding" and Birdy and Candy pray to a shrine of Michael Jordan that they regard as a deity in this world. Additionally, Birdy calls out to important figures as she worries about Candy throughout his dangerous journey. She calls out to "Justin Bieber VI, Stephen Hawking III, and Paul McCartney XI" to give her strength and protect Candy. This random prayer gives a comedic element to the film and also depicts how celebrities and other famous figures linger throughout history even through terrible events such as a full world war that basically eradicates the population. It was hilarious to hear her call out to these random figures (not even the originals but presumably their sons?) for strength because of the bizarre roles they play(ed) in society in reality. They aren't gods or holy figures but just famous people in music and science.