Before going into this movie I was expecting the same ol' racial stereotypical crap. You know, the black actor befriending a white/Asian actor, where the comedy is supposed to start somewhere between making the white/Asian actor(s) look as lame and awkward as possible by comparison. Typical and stupid beyond words. A big FU to all the Jamie Fox's, Will Smith's and Wayan's brothers of the World! Congrats on selling out to further the stereotypes. It's Hollywoods signature application, the formula, one constantly peddled to us with that typical shock value to make a quick buck, it's no secret. It's not unheard of after all and to this day I'm still amazed to see people paying for tickets to go see Something like Hitch or Rush Hour(2) with a straight face. Tools. Crash is a bit misleading on the surface. In a Steel Magnolia esque way of story telling, it proved to be much more than what TV spots and Trailers lead it to be. The core of this movie is about racial stereotypes sure, but it's also much more. I don't mean to sound wishy washy, but this movie really teaches a lesson. It's screaming: "Look at yourselves people! Look at what you reduced yourselves to! Look how rediculous we are!. But it doesn't have to be that way!" Crash isn't just a movie, it's an ironic and implicit lesson for all Americans. Sure it shows the worst sides of people, all people, all races, all creeds (the exact "book cover" of what I first saw and hated in the TV spots, but thats the easy part). But like the cartoon southpark, it takes no sides. It shows the potential of how stupid we ALL are, as different races, be it Black, White, Asian, Arabian or as the movie specifies...Persian. But at the same time it shows that no matter how awful we can be to each other, that we can at the same time...have the potential for compassion, the potential for good with those that we didn't once trust. We all make mistakes and sometimes have the wrong feelings because we don't fully understand. Unfortunately todays media preys upon that negativity and uses it to get ratings. Thus fanning the flames. As much evil there is in the world, there is good. It's up to the individual to decide where they belong. This movie did what it set out to do.Read full review
I bought this as a gift for a friend (she really wanted it). I actually saw this film in theaters, and when I was done watching it I had tears in my eyes. It kind of draws you in with all the character struggles and the whole six-degrees-of-separation idea - that we're all connected somehow. I also felt it hit the nail on the head in regards to how isolated we sometimes are from each other - separated by the need for personal space, bars, windows of glass, or even just our own imperviousness to one another. Things are not all doom and gloom in this film, there are some pretty funny moments (at least, I chuckled in some spots), with part of the humor coming from how easily one can claim he is not a racist or has no bias, and in the next breath be verbally derogatory towards/about someone else. Love how the double standard is shown over and over again. Makes you think that sometimes we are our own worst enemy, and that if we could just get out of our own way things might be better. I recommend this movie if you're looking for a slightly jarring film, but one with a good story and not necessarily a happy ending.Read full review
"Crash" tells interlocking stories of whites, blacks, Latinos, Koreans, Iranians, cops and criminals, the rich and the poor, the powerful and powerless, all defined in one way or another by racism. All are victims of it, and all are guilty it. Sometimes, yes, they rise above it, although it is never that simple. Their negative impulses may be instinctive, their positive impulses may be dangerous, and who knows what the other person is thinking? The result is a movie of intense fascination; we understand quickly enough who the characters are and what their lives are like, but we have no idea how they will behave, because so much depends on accident. Most movies enact rituals; we know the form and watch for variations. "Crash" is a movie with free will, and anything can happen. Because we care about the characters, the movie is uncanny in its ability to rope us in and get us involved. "Crash" was directed by Paul Haggis, whose screenplay for "Million Dollar Baby" led to Academy Awards. It connects stories based on coincidence, serendipity, and luck, as the lives of the characters crash against one another other like pinballs. The movie presumes that most people feel prejudice and resentment against members of other groups, and observes the consequences of those feelings. One thing that happens, again and again, is that peoples' assumptions prevent them from seeing the actual person standing before them. An Iranian (Shaun Toub) is thought to be an Arab, although Iranians are Persian. Both the Iranian and the white wife of the district attorney (Sandra Bullock) believe a Mexican-American locksmith (Michael Pena) is a gang member and a crook, but he is a family man. A black cop (Don Cheadle) is having an affair with his Latina partner (Jennifer Esposito), but never gets it straight which country she's from. A cop (Matt Dillon) thinks a light-skinned black woman (Thandie Newton) is white. When a white producer tells a black TV director (Terrence Dashon Howard) that a black character "doesn't sound black enough," it never occurs to him that the director doesn't "sound black," either. For that matter, neither do two young black men (Larenz Tate and Ludacris), who dress and act like college students, but have a surprise for us. You see how it goes. Along the way, these people say exactly what they are thinking, without the filters of political correctness. The district attorney's wife is so frightened by a street encounter that she has the locks changed, then assumes the locksmith will be back with his "homies" to attack them. The white cop can't get medical care for his dying father, and accuses a black woman at his HMO with taking advantage of preferential racial treatment. The Iranian can't understand what the locksmith is trying to tell him, freaks out, and buys a gun to protect himself. The gun dealer and the Iranian get into a shouting match. Not many films have the possibility of making their audiences better people. I don't expect "Crash" to work any miracles, but I believe anyone seeing it is likely to be moved to have a little more sympathy for people not like themselves. The movie contains hurt, coldness and cruelty, but is it without hope? Not at all. Stand back and consider. All of these people, superficially so different, share the city and learn that they share similar fears and hopes. Until several hundred years ago, most people everywhere on earth never saw anybody who didn't look like them.Read full review
With Crash, writer Paul Haggis shows he's more than willing to bet the farm on a mere plot device. The characters in this film are largely one-dimensonal and bland. Many lack the screentime to truly develop, and end up undergoing massive change with little to no apparent catalyst. That doesn't seem to matter though. Such a multitude of characters means there can be a multitude of coincidental meetings, allowing Haggis to hammer in his shallow message with the subtley of a wrecking ball. This movie is all about style and flare. It flails it's arms wildly and tries to convert you with it's passionate tone, but it simply comes off as manufactured in the end. You can almost feel Haggis trying to pull your heartstrings right out of your chest at certain points in the film. But you know it's fake. And dirty. This isn't the chronicles of a real city, as Haggis might have you believe. It's a fairy tale of gloom and despair about a place that doesn't exist. A shallow piece with the clear intention of filling theatre seats, rather than saying anything of value about race relations in America. Now Crash does have redeeming qualities sprinkled throughout. Don Cheadle's acting is solid as always, and Terrance Howard is a newcomer that shines brightly. The editing is top-notch as it shoots you from locale to locale without missing a beat. It might even put you on the edge of your seat for a moment or two. Overall though, it simply doesn't resonate as the wise and powerful piece it was intended to be.Read full review
In high school most people in the United States have been taught that America is no longer a melting pot where different ethnicities are assimilated into one homogenous mix, but a tossed salad where people keep their differences from their ethnic backgrounds. The ethnic background includes aspects such as race, linguistics, religion, and culture. This knowledge frequently drifts into some unused part of the brain, as it slowly moves into oblivion. Nonetheless, the ethnic differences between people continue to exist in the United States, as people work and handle their personal matters on a daily basis. Crash tells a story of people from all parts of the world, as African-Americans, Asians, Caucasians, Hispanics, and Middle Easterners move through life and occasionally bump into each other by accident, a crash if you will. Through daily interaction people accidentally connect with each other where stereotypes and generalizations are made based on assumptions from the brief incidents, previous events, and hearsay. This is often the result of simplified deduction, which could be colored by emotion and bias. The skewed perception of people with different ethnicity could also stem from appearance, gender, and the socioeconomic status of the observer and the observed. Paul Haggis directs several interesting characters from all walks of life such as police officers, criminals, locksmiths, storeowners, and TV directors. Some are caring while others neglect those around them. They have one thing in common with each other - no one is alike. Instead of playing the card of racism in a black and white manner, Haggis cleverly intertwines all of the characters through a truly genuine approach. The origin of intolerance is being dissected through the camera that depicts the characters' behavior while also displaying the source of the behavior. Through the characters Haggis displays different emotions such as fear, anger, hatred, and love. These different emotions are expressed in different manners, as interactions between the characters accidentally appear. Some times the observed feelings are subtle, as when Jean (Sandra Bullock) in fear grabs Rick's (Brendan Fraser) arm while Anthony (Ludacris) and Peter (Larenz Tate) walk by them, which is even mentioned by Anthony. Another more overt example is when Farhad (Shaun Toub) speaks in Farsi to his daughter at a gun store in Persian, as the gun store manager throws out prejudicial comments toward Farhad. Many of the scenes display racism, but the focus is on an incident before that triggered emotions such as rage, fear, and hatred. These powerful emotions burn violently inside each person when being hostile, as the individual regresses into simplistic thinking using their stereotypes and generalizations as guides. When each person regresses through anger someone always tends to get hurt either physically or emotionally. In turn this anger breeds more anger much like Hydra, as when one head is cut off two new heads grow out. The anger develops into fear of similar incidents which then is communicated to friends, media, or other channels of communication. Sometimes people simply neglect to inform others of racist behavior in fear of repercussions. Consequently, the fear brings about more negative generalizations that feed the hatred. In the story the hatred is directed toward people due to their ethnicity, as race is the easiest thing to observe since it rests within the skin color of each person. CrashRead full review
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