evocative and poetic

Rating: 10/10 (15 May 2005)

Crash is poetry in dramatic form. Is it realistic? Yes, but not in a way that we should expect to meet these characters in our daily routines (just as we wouldn't expect to experience the same kind of love/lust/longing depicted in poetry). Its realism and power is derived from clearly articulating the intensity of the frustration and intolerance that lives beneath our consciousness. This movie should not be berated for its hyperbolic characters and coincidental encounters  they should be recognized as devices (brilliantly employed) to generate a sense of involvement with and personal responsibility for the reality of racism and selfishness. Racism is the central theme of this film, but it is not an end in itself. Rather it is the means through which we see how we construct and cling to the notion otherness (whether it be race, class, or religion) in order to define our sense of self. The different segments and encounters are mean to illustrate how connected we all are, simply by virtue of being alive with a common purpose  to be happy.