stirred, waiting....

Rating: 4/10 (5 May 2006)

A film stitched together with a very thick twine. This is how I imagine making of crash: 10 or so sitcom screenwriters were summoned and sat down at a table for 5 hours. Snacks were provided. The first task was: "write down your recent experience related to race relations in the USA." Something you have heard yourself, heard a friend talk about, heard on TV. Two hours later the writers were given the second task: "write down a thickest racial and immigrant stereotype that first comes your mind." Two hours later the pages were taken from the writers and put in a food processor. Well, an equivalent if it, some computer program that arranged the pages in random order. The screenwriters went on a lunch break. After the break the facilitator gave them a Power Point presentation of the written material and said "please notice the main themes. Come up with 5 to 6 sub-plots and 8 to 10 characters that emerge from this material." An hour later, and after a short bathroom break, the movie script was ready. No, I'm not kidding. This is how the movie MUST have been made. The rhythm of the film is like of a sitcom, only except bursting with laughter, the audience would gasp. The characters that are so diverse should be interesting, but they come out cartoonish. The process of shooting the movie must also have been speedy and sloppy. The actors talk like they are reading the script from a conveniently positioned screen. Considering the sloppiness of Crash, I'm surprised that the audience couldn't catch an accidental glimpse of such screen, with the dialogue scrolling, the actors in a daze, thinking about what they are going to do in the evening, not even paying attention to what comes out of their mouths.... There's the other side of the story: I'm very glad to see a popular movie about race relations, discrimination, prejudice, connections, etc etc in the USA. I'm an immigrant in the USA myself and, even with white skin, lots of BS is flying constantly my way in many different ways. When I try to point this out, most people act like they have not clue and they would rather change the subject. Prejudice and discrimination need to be talked about, written about, made movies about - with grace, with depth, with heart, with thoughtfulness... I'm waiting for a movie that will not only hit me with thick stereotypes, dazzle me with quick twists of the plot, startle me by its number of characters and the speed of the good guy turning bad guy turning good guy, but would shake my heart, make me wonder and feel and give me inspiration. I'm waiting for a great movie that will address the greatest subject of this century: where are we now in this melting world? Hope that Crash is just a small, shaky baby step in this direction, a strong stir in the melting pot, and that followers will come.