Collisions...

Rating: 9/10 (10 March 2006)

"When inward life dries up, when feeling decreases and apathy increases, when one cannot affect or even genuinely touch another person, violence flares up as a demonic necessity for contact, a mad drive forcing touch in the most direct way possible. " - by Rollo May, "Love and Will"
The deadliest weapon of all is not a gun, a knife, a bomb, or a poison. They just finish the job, which always starts with the words. We are very creative in choosing the right words that will hurt and infuriate the fellow human being and start the unstoppable nuclear reaction of hatred, intolerance, and violence. "Crash" is about such reactions that lead to the collision of races, backgrounds, characters, and cultures - all that big modern American city like L.A. is built of. The lives of Whites, Blacks, Hispanics, and Asians are smashed into one another quickly and painfully - in the course of one day that will change these lives forever.
The film is an impressive directorial debut by Paul Haggis; an Oscar nominated screenwriter of "Million Dollar Baby". "Crash", IMO is much better written than M$B. Acting is superb by all cast (Don Cheaddle, Thandie Newton, Sandra Bullock in a small supporting role playing against her usual nice girl image and very good in it, Brendan Fraser, Ryan Phillippe and Matt Dillon who is a revelation as an arrogant racist cop who would turn by his different side later on).
I was going to say that the film is not perfect and it depends a bit too much on coincidence - but life is a chain of coincidences, sometimes even more than we can imagine.
Highly recommended.