It would be nearly impossible for me to deny the true greatness of this film. There are very few films I can think of which contain so much ambition, integrity, conviction, and audacity. It is a love story of rare power, matched only by a precious few others. The concept of the film alone deserves admiration, and the execution is nearly flawless. It manages to avoid practically all the problems which could potentially occur trying to tell a story like this. In the wrong hands, this film could have either been a cloying, condescending mess, or a cruel sickening freak show. But, as is, the film does a great job of keeping a balance, never reducing itself to either, equally false, extreme. Instead the film relentlessly pursues those elusive moments of cinematic truth, and never falters. The extent to which the filmmakers (writer/director and actors alike) remain true to the characters they are portraying is amazing, never reducing them to either grotesque caricature nor helpless objects worthy only of our pity and easy, manipulative tears. Instead, the film takes a truly unflinching, yet nuanced look at mental and physical disability. When you consider that the subject of disability in cinema usually results in sterile, vapid films like "Forrest Gump" and "The Other Sister", "Oasis" is practically a miracle. At times I admit it is hard to watch, but it is honest and never at all mean-spirited. Ultimately the effect is messy, transcendent truthfulness rather than shock or unpleasantness. The only real criticism I have about the film is that I felt the occasional dream sequences were ultimately unnecessary, although for what they were they weren't bad at all, fairly well-done actually.
Review of Oasis
