Moving at the speed of life, we are bound to collide with each other

Rating: 10/10 (28 October 2012)

Crash is one of the best movies that I have ever seen. It is so powerful and very well executed. It is a film that I believe all individuals should take the time out to watch just once. This movie intertwines the lives of many unrelated people living together in the city of Los Angeles, California. It all takes place within a 36 hour time period. It focuses on the social and racial tensions that people face every day and it uncovers the negative truths of our shared humanity.
The cast of Crash is plentiful with big Hollywood stars:
 A Brentwood housewife and her DA husband: Sandra Bullock as Jean and Brendan Fraser as Rick  Two police detectives who are also lovers: Don Cheadle as Graham and Jennifer Esposito as Ria  An African-American television director and his wife: Terrence Howard as Cameron and Thandie Newton as Christine  A Mexican locksmith: Michael Pena as Daniel  Two car-jackers: Chris "ludacris" Bridges as Anthony and Larenz Tate as Peter  A hardened cop partnered with a rookie cop: Matt Dillon as Officer Ryan and Ryan Phillippe as Officer Hansen
Life moves fast and this is something that all viewers can relate to. As citizens, we are often walking around in our 'own little worlds.' The theme of this film is to take a look at all the different walks of life and it allows us to see things from all points of view, not just our own. Our actions cause reactions. Too often people do not stop to think about how their proceedings will affect others. This film takes things to the extreme and it shows us the consequences that may result.
A tag line for this film is: We crash into each other just so that we can feel something. This is in relation to the fact that we are somewhat robotic in our daily lives. We have to work, some individuals even have to pick up second jobs, many of us are parents, and some of us are still furthering our educations. The hustle and bustle of daily life can cause us to slowly build resentments we are not even aware of. In addition to the theme of how we can affect others; there is also a piece of this film that shows how many of us are brought to our breaking points.
In some ways this movie did show similarities to the movie American History X. Crash is much broader. However, both of these films address the 'elephant in the room.' They cover topics that people do not like to talk about, but topics that are very real. They are both racially related. They both teach some sort of life lesson and show us things that truly make life meaningful: Love, family, the power of relationships, and respect for others.
There is phenomenal technique within the editing of this film. They weave together the lives of strangers and the transitions are extremely smooth. It can be hard when jumping from one unrelated scene to another and I give the editor of this film a lot of credit. Many of the scenes were filmed multi-camera. There was quite a bit of rearranging that had to be done and I found the editing to be flawless.
The sound effects and soundtrack are also very important elements used in this film. The end of this movie is quite a long 'aha moment.' The events all come full circle and everything that had been unpredictable throughout the film now makes perfect sense. Sounds help to heighten the intense moments in film. They have done an outstanding job here.
In summary, we live in a society where we must behave in a politically correct manner. But at the end of the day, we all see the world from our own perspectives. This is the reality. I found this film to be very real. As a viewer, I can really appreciate this. These are necessary issues to uncover. I feel as though these discoveries can only help us to become better people and better members of society. If I could, I would mail a copy to every household in the United States! This is a great film. I cannot say enough good things about it.