Here is a one-of-a-kind low-budget film so raw, of such perverse imagination, that it could only have been made far outside the Hollywood mainstream. Portraying the aftermath of a small private plane crash in the Mexican desert and the desperate attempts at survival by the surviving crew, the film spares the audience no details in their quest - and I mean NO DETAILS. This movie is grimy, violent, utterly disturbing, and throws every taboo right in your face - there is no getting around that. For anyone who has seen "Alive", the only real Hollywood version of similar subject matter, "The Oasis" makes that movie look like Disney soap-operatic nonsense.
The film opens on a chilling montage worthy of Kubrick, completely without dialogue, showing the previous lives of the various passengers cut between shots of the carnage in the aftermath of the crash. There are no special effects showing the actual crash, but this lack of extraneous detail is crucial to the film's total leanness. There are other similarly beautiful visual passages throughout the film, and very little actual dialogue. Director Greene's visual sense seems remarkably honed for his first and only feature film. And his final long tracking shot is brilliant in its simultaneous portrayal of adjulation and despair. The very title of the film is distressing, as its nonsensical nature becomes apparent once you have seen the film.
This movie is a total lost gem; it is too bad that it has probably disappeared by now from studio film libraries and will be completely forgotten in several years. I highly recommend tracking down and holding onto one of the few videotape copies still floating around. It is easily one of the most disheartening movies you will ever see, but then again, great works of tragedy are always disheartening. You will probably either love it or hate it, but you will definitely not forget having seen it.
The film opens on a chilling montage worthy of Kubrick, completely without dialogue, showing the previous lives of the various passengers cut between shots of the carnage in the aftermath of the crash. There are no special effects showing the actual crash, but this lack of extraneous detail is crucial to the film's total leanness. There are other similarly beautiful visual passages throughout the film, and very little actual dialogue. Director Greene's visual sense seems remarkably honed for his first and only feature film. And his final long tracking shot is brilliant in its simultaneous portrayal of adjulation and despair. The very title of the film is distressing, as its nonsensical nature becomes apparent once you have seen the film.
This movie is a total lost gem; it is too bad that it has probably disappeared by now from studio film libraries and will be completely forgotten in several years. I highly recommend tracking down and holding onto one of the few videotape copies still floating around. It is easily one of the most disheartening movies you will ever see, but then again, great works of tragedy are always disheartening. You will probably either love it or hate it, but you will definitely not forget having seen it.