Crash
Just this past Sunday afternoon, I arrived back to my dorm to find this long-awaited Netflix envelope in my mailbox. Crash had arrived not but two days after I had left to go home for the break. And all during that break, I had anticipated going back to College Station and finally sitting down with Crash, considering it won an Oscar for Best Picture in 2006 (took them long enough!) and was rather critically acclaimed. So, late Sunday night, I sat down and finally put this in my PS3.
Before I really review this, I think it's important for you to know that Crash is meant to be somewhat of a cathartic and preachy movie. More specifically, it has to do with the "journeys of self-discovery and the discovery of others" (whatever that's supposed to mean) in regards to racism. The film is set in L.A., which is a good choice considering the melting-pot of cultures the city is.
Anyway, throughout the film, we witness the personal "journeys" of various couples/families/friends of various races, and while Brendan Fraser's character seems pretty normal, you would think that white people are the enemy in this movie. Seriously. Because even if some of the other characters do some vile things (and they most certainly do), it's pretty much just the white people who hold their grudges against people of other races. Whether it be the well-to-do wife played by Sandra Bullock with her Mexican maid and the Mexican man who changes the locks on her and her husband's house after a couple of black guys carjack them one night, or the policeman played by Matt Dillon with a black couple that he pulls over and a black insurance worker, it seems as if the Caucasians are the cause of most of this hostility. Don't get me wrong--there's a pretty bloodthirsty Turkish man, and the two black friends certainly need to get their moral compass fixed, but it seems as though most of the more overt racism takes part because of the white people.
That aside, this is certainly a powerful movie that really portrays America well and perpetuates the blah, blah, blah...All-in-all, this is worth watching if you have about two hours to spare and want to be humbled. Whether you're red, yellow, black, or white, this movie will be precious in your sight. Haha.
Any comments would certainly be appreciated!
Next review: Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
I have to say (and it's Gavin, by the by) that this movie was entertaining, but I found it to be far too much of a stereotype (of stereotypes, no less) to have deserved the sweep it got at the Oscars. It was an interesting comment on racism in America, but it's the kind of subject that one movie cannot possibly hope to cover terribly well. And that was my impression. Nice review!
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