Crossover Dreams
Picture: C+
Sound: B- Extras: C- Film: C+
When Leon Ichaso’s Crossover Dreams arrived in
1985, it received its share of critical raves.
The way it focused on the Latino community was considered a revelation
and it did some business to boot.
Despite the very recent popularity of Salsa and Latino music, not as
much has changed as the media would have you believe. However, the struggle and desperation of the main music artist
played by Ruben Blades can only be understood when placed in its time period.
I saw the film in its time and was only so impressed, in
part because it is as much a mood piece as anything, though it has enough of a
structured narrative, I do not agree with the box that it is up there with The
Harder They Come as a music film.
For one thing, the music is not as memorable, nor is the storyline. Finally, the film is not as ideologically
bold. Some would say the lead is trying
to “sellout” or fit into and conform to an industry, something the hero in Harder
They Come cannot do, as the record business is far more corrupt in the
world of that film.
Either way, it does serve as a time capsule of importance
and some of it still rings true, though it always had some clichés going for
it. Music fans that have not seen it
should see it at least once.
The anamorphically enhanced 1.78 X 1 image is a
disappointment, with a lack of fine detail and unstable color, as shot by
Claudio Chea. The Dolby Digital 2.0
Stereo has some Pro Logic surrounds and fares better, though not even a Dolby
theatrical analog release. The only
extras are a trailer for this and four other New Yorker DVD releases. That’s a shame, because a featurette on the
music and the film’s historical placement is called for. Crossover Dreams was not the usual
assimilated pop schlock that eventually killed New Wave in the 1980s and
presented the illusion of progress against racism. It is real enough to separate itself from that.
- Nicholas Sheffo
