Crime Wave

An absolute peach of a film about a "quiet man" Steven Penny (played by director John Paizs himself) and his desires to pen the greatest colour crime movie ever told. His attempts are lovingly documented by his chipper and inquisitive neighbour Kim (Eva Kovacs), who becomes fascinated by Steven after reading scraps from his discarded screenplays, which Steven has thrown to the trash. For you see, Steven is a tormented artist. He can write the beginnings and endings of screenplays, but not the middles... and what screenplays they are! They tell sordid tales of hapless and violent Elvis impersonators; murderous Amway recruits; self-destructive self-help gurus! Yet, however sordid these cutaways become, the film retains a giddy innocence amidst the darkness. It also achieves a feat that very few films achieve, which is to use kitsch in a way that is wholly earnest and sincere, rather than ironic. The whole film has the feel of an after-school special, or those awkwardly mannered edutainment titles reserved for the classroom, but the spirit of parody remains wholly affectionate and the film is often touching and beautiful. This is especially impressive for a film with such strong meta-fictional elements, since it would be easy for such an exercise to become distanced and cynical. However, when Kim educates the viewer about persistence of vision, passing on the knowledge given to her by Steven, we are simply caught up in the joy of it, rather than smirking some knowing smirk as to how clever-clever the enterprise is. With the entrance of criminally insane script doctor Dr. Jolly (Neil Lawrie) the film threatens to become rather dark, yet still retains a lightness of touch. It's a magical piece of filmmaking, quite unlike anything you've ever seen before, one infused with the joys of filmmaking, friendship and the wonder of childhood with the experience of being an adult. It's a beaut.

I'm a fan of cult movies so it's easy for me to say that Crime Wave is one of my favorite films of all time, and it inspired me to create and continues to do so.

It is a travesty that there is no DVD release of this film. I had to get a personal copy of it from a VHS bootleg at a convention. Limited accessibility is frustrating to me because, I feel that the film is not only entertaining, it's also educational.

In my opinion, there has never been a more accurate or hilarious portrayal of the struggles of the creative process than the one in Crime Wave.

The films is both riotously funny and, at times, heartwarming. It's a must watch if you're an artist who has attacks of self-doubt or just someone who enjoys wacky off-beat comedies.

As far as commenting on the film is concerned, I can only echo what others have already said. "Crime Wave" is brilliant and beautifully filmed. I watched the film today and I found the Kodak film used is no longer available so perhaps another film with just this look will never be possible again?

Now to the exciting news: I have just purchased (and received on 8 February 2009) copies of "Crime Wave" and "Springtime in Greenland" on DVD.

The guidelines prevent me from linking directly to the site but just use Google and look for "John Paizs" and "Crime Wave". I hope the 'availability' clause still won't prevent this comment from appearing.

I only saw this movie once on CBC years ago so it's fuzzy, but the scene with the cowboy and the main character has stuck with me because it has the kind of creepiness that leaves the mouth dry.

Okay, Lynch may not have "ripped" the scene from this movie but when I saw the scene in Mulholland Drive with the cowboy I only took me a fraction of a second to drag out this little scene from Crime Wave which was lost somewhere in my memory banks. I think this is a good thing, because how else could I have reclaimed my interest in Piazs' film, introducing it to you now and maybe even getting you to be interested in it too?

Both scenes have similar settings, a failing light from above, and both involve a meeting with a menacing character in a cowboy hat. When I saw Mulholland Dr. I just KNEW Lynch had to have seen this movie too.

Anyways, you all inspire me: Maddin, Paizs, Lynch, Georges Melies, Miranda July, Godard...

Crime Wave is an absolute gem. In fact, I promise you that it's the best move that you've never heard of -- a post modern masterpiece.

Hopefully a distribution company will come along and make it available to you. Currently, if I'm not mistaken, it's only on VHS, and only in the hands of people, like me, who purchased a second hand copy.

But honestly, if you are a person who likes innovative films, and I'm assuming that you are one of those people, do yourself a favor and find a way to catch this one. I can't imagine it being any better than it is.

Good luck, and enjoy!