Thought-provoking, beautiful, and heartbreaking, "Crash" was the best movie of 2005.

Rating: 10/10 (8 February 2006)

To be honest, I was astounded by this film. It is one of the greatest movies I have ever seen in my life. I'm not exaggerating. It is that good.
"Crash" has many characters and huge cast of terrific actors to go along with it. I could compare it to "Magnolia" in that contains a number of stories in one movie that all take place in Los Angeles. However, "Crash" is infinitely better than the preceding movie because I found myself actually becoming attached to the characters. Usually, the problem with these multi-character plots is that viewers never become entirely connected to the characters. There are just too many to love. However, I don't really know why, but I was immediately drawn into the lives of the people in "Crash." I laughed with them, cried with them, and shared in their frustrations.
Director Paul Haggins's film is about racism. These days, it is unbelievably hard to create an original story about that subject. I mean, really, it's a never-ending subject in U.S. history that constantly appears over and over again. I'm not saying that it's unimportant, but many anti-racist movies follow the same plot, emotions, and themes.
"Crash," however is overflowing with originality and vigor. I really got the feeling that there was passion going on behind the screen. None of the racial conflicts felt obligatory or exasperated. Haggins and his cast were really searching for something here. They wanted to discover the truth. There is no stereotypical racist pig or victim. No one race is targeted; instead, all of them are, and every person in this film both has prejudices and suffers from them.
The dialogue is real but at the same time expressive. Each of the characters felt like real people, and once again, I became very attached to all of them. From the pessimistic and copious carjacker (played by Ludicrous) to a touching family man first thought to be a gangster, every character in "Crash" is unique and touching. They also, at one point or another, embody a part of us and what we believe in or how we feel. It is a real thrill to see their stories all intertwine and react with one another.
Some people say these characters are more like caricatures that do not actually exist in real life. However, one must consider that in every movie, themes and actions are exaggerated in order to get a point across. Are all people in Los Angeles this racist or messed up? I doubt it, but Paul Haggins isn't pointing a finger at anyone. He is merely an observer crawling around in the darkest shadows of people's hearts struggling to find the light. And, at the end, virtually all of the characters do find a better part of themselves in one way or another.
Finally, "Crash" is unique because it does not try to persuade you into thinking racism is bad. That is not the theme of the movie. What the film really does is it asks important questions: What makes people racist? Why do they feel that way? Do our prejudices ever help us in situations? These are the questions that "Crash" explores.
Do its characters ever find a solution? I will leave that for you to decide. Indeed, I believe that the somewhat bizarre weather occurrence at the end is symbolic of the feelings inside of each character. The snow in L.A. symbolizes the numbing of anger and hate in these characters . Sure, they still have prejudices, but their levels of anger have lowered and a calm front has arrived.
Film critic Roger Ebert called this film the best movie of 2005. I very much agree with him and am happy to have seen this film while it is still in hot debate. Ebert stated that "Crash" is actually about the progress of humanity, and at some moments, it looks at how far we have come. Sure, there are still many miles to go, but the many beautiful and reflective moments in this film wonderfully illustrate Ebert's point. Racism may separate us as people, but it is love, compassion, and loyalty that can essentially bring us all together again.