Crash!

Rating: 8/10 (20 November 2007)

Unlike any other inspiration movies I have ever seen, Crash is by far the most influential movie. But in addition to the wonder movie plot, acting story line, I have many negative things to say about the movie as well. First of all, I believe it's important to recognize this movie as one of the most motivated film ever made. The topic of the movie is racism in America. However Paul Haggis, director, focused this problem in Los Angeles because of its hectic nature. The story introduces many characters with different ethnicity and slow brings these characters into each other's life. All of these characters are diverse of the way they live life, but they're also similar in the way that they accepts the hidden racism that's affecting the world everyday. The movie portrays the typical racial stereotypes and shows that it's an evitable concept that is here to stay in our community forever. In one scenario, a white woman Jean Cabot, played by Sandra Bullock, become extremely racist after being pointed with a gun during her encounter with two black men on the street. When Jean saw the locksmith, Daniel, installing new locks on her door, she demands to her husband Rick, played by Brendan Fraser, to have those locks removed because Daniel is Mexican. The movie is so emotionally packed with radical circumstances that Haggis leaves the audiences no room to decide who are justified and who aren't. Ludicrous' character is an example of this confusion. He plays Anthony, a black gang member who is extremely self-conscious about his ethnicity. During many moments when he's faced with a White man, automatically Anthony assumes the man is making typical black racial comments. The problem is this is that most of the times, he's the one who keeps refer back to the racist comments others had made about his people. This leaves me the impression that he's actually more racists about his ethnicity than what the society has placed upon him. The actors were phenomenal for portraying their appropriate role. Of all the characters I find Daniel, played by Michael Pena, especially convincing. Daniel is a young hardworking Hispanic immigrant with a loving wife and a beautiful naïve daughter Lara. Because of their low income, the family is forced to live in a criminal environment. The father daughter scene was truly moving. When Daniel comes home from work, he finds Lara hiding under her bed scared by the sound of guns outside her window. As an affectionate father, Daniel tells Lara the story of an imaginary guardian angel who gave him a 'charm' which will always protect him from any evil. Then he passes the 'charm' to Lara and kissed her to sleep. Lara, now wearing the 'charm', is convinced that she's protected from all harm. So when the Persian storeowner who is convinced that the Mexican will rob his store, he fires the gun to Daniel as Lara jumps in front of her father to protect him. Daniel screams and breaks down to tears while holding Lara in his arms. The feeling of witnessing the situation is revolting. At first you will feel petrified watching the little girl resting on the father's shoulders as he screams in despair. But sudden you'll find yourself speechless as you see the girl slowly look up to her father. The bullet missed Lara. How? That's what you should find out. I respect the ending of the story. Unlike other movies, the director ended the story on a neutral tone. Instead of try to end racism, Haggis left the problem as it is. I believe this adds to the reason why the movie is so respected. Haggis' point is that racism is never endless when we have diverse people together in the same melting pot struggling for the competition of survival. It's the price we all have to pay for living in America. Even though the leaders of the country try hard to end racism, it's just impossible to achieve this idealistic notion. What I really liked about the whole movie is that it's not just a propaganda to stop discrimination, but it's also acts as a notion that allows individuals have their own understanding of the issue. Because the movie involves with characters of various race, more people will be able to relate themselves with the matter and hopefully react to it in an idealistic fashion. The negative thing I didn't like about the movie is the exaggerated and the unrealistic racial discriminations. I believe the director had embellished the issue a little too much. Taking the movie to a much personal account, I believe Haggis took the topic too dramatic to an extend that it's almost insulting. Not everyone in the city is as racists as the characters in the movie. Most of the people are too busy dealing with their own lives rather than getting into other's lives. Just like police Graham had said in the opening of the movie, "You brush past people, people bump into you. In L.A., nobody touches you. We're always behind this metal and glass. I think we miss that touch so much, that we crash into each other, just so we can feel something."