Forbidden Fruits

Binding: DVD
Region: Region 1
Actor: Starr, Hicks, David
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
Run Time: 102 minutes
ASIN: B000FIKFRK
Rated: Unrated
Manufacturer: Code Black Ent
Release Date: 2006-07-25
Average Customer Review: (From 2 total reviews)
List Price: ~~$14.99~~
Amazon Price: $8.00 (38 new 20 used available)
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Editorial Reviews

Description:
In the spirit of Crash, Forbidden Fruits explores the cultural differences and nuances between different minority groups. Forbidden Fruits is a story about the colliding of three different worlds - African Americans, Chaldean Americans and Arabic Americans. Shawn, a college student from Cleveland, falls in love with a Chaldean girl named Crystal that attends his university in Detroit. Shawn’s Cousin Mark, a local street thug, warns him to leave “those kinds of girls” alone because their families will never permit it to flourish. Forbidden Fruits is a modern day Romeo and Juliet story in which Shawn refuses to abandon his love and instead chooses to hide his romance from those closest to him.

Customer Reviews

Mr Mingo’s review is way off by Rochanne Johnson
I think this is an excellent movie. I love to see movies were racism is addressed. I think this movie is well worth the buy. And for Mr Mingo that says “Crash” was unworthy of an Oscar. I’m sorry to say that he must live in a fantasy world or you must not be a man of color because racism is not subtle. I am a black woman who has also traveled to other countries and I must say that I experienced racism overseas but not like I experience it here just about everyday. I would say overall they did a good job w/ this movie

Even Worse than “Crash”! by Jeffery Mingo
I love works that address tensions between groups of color. I also love seeing actors of color get experience and additions to their resumes. But those lofty concerns do not mitigate all the bad acting and lack of a plot here.

This film takes place in Michigan and I’m almost sure that’s the only place where both Blacks and Arabs live in large numbers. This is far from a universal theme to which many can relate. “Romeo Must Die” was better than this because there are several American cities that have large numbers of Blacks and Asians. It’s funny that tensions with Blacks are often how other groups of color get film exposure. This was true of Indians via “Mississippi Masala” and now this film establishes that trend for Arab Americans.

Like the Oscar-unworthy “Crash,” this film is unrealistic in the way it slaps race over your head. Four decades after the 1964 Civil Rights Act, racism is subtle and difficult to pin down, Michael Richards’ outburst aside. This film showed at least five instances of one person facing another person who doesn’t support their interracial coupling. Not once does any character say, “Well, at least they’re both of color.” If tensions are so high between Blacks and Arabs in Michigan, why was almost every person in this dating outside their race? Why did the Arabs wear hip-hop clothing and use Black vernacular? Why were no Blacks who practice Islam brought up? No one ever mentions Malcolm X or Louis Farrakhan, two highly respected Islamic African Americans.

Arabs are shown here as being diverse. It was emphasized that some are Muslim, but some are Christian. I learned that Chaldean is pronounced with a hard K sound and not like the “ch” sound in Che Guevara. The film begins with a racialized history of Detroit that was very informative. But some things were stupid and intended for the ignorant. For example, a Black woman says to her Arab boyfriend, “This is a pretty church.” and he responds, “It’s called a mosque.” Hello! Any person in Michigan, with its large Muslim population, would know that. Later she says, “You mean not all Arabs are Lebanese?” Duh! Most Americans, and I’m talking of my own people here, couldn’t find Lebanon on a map. It’s not like she said, “You mean all Arabs aren’t from Saudi Arabia?” or something less ludicrous.

In the press, Detroit is usually portrayed as very post-industrial and rapidly in decline, but this film portrays it as clean and happening. I hated seeing Tiny Lister play a sell-out. Keith Sweat hasn’t aged as terribly as M.C. Hammer, but he’s a long way from his “New Jack City” cameo appearance.

There are a few things I’ll give to this movie. I thought it was on point when it showed males of color opining that they could date interracially, but not their sisters. Others said, “It’s okay to do that, so long as it isn’t one of my family members.” There is also an emphasis on, “Be civil to them, but don’t take them home!” These are all dynamics that are common in the US, for those who are honest enough to admit it.

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