Crash

Such a sensitive issue like racial slurs, when brought up to the artistic form of visual dimension whereby the words and acts dealing with the issue can be seen and examined with our perfunctory senses, may tend to be banal if being given an inconsiderable treatment that shies away from presenting reality.

Thankfully, the banality in this film is in fact the strongest point that makes the film compelling to watch. In a rare occasion of successful ensemble of too many good actors pulling out dramatic punches at their best, Paul Haggis manages to unite them in one strong story of a life in everyday LA, seemingly a town full of racism to inhale as a daily staple.

In the recent times of politeness in tackling the issue, any forms of accusations in the manner of cursing and swearing are easily uttered to one another, at some point taken as jokes, yet most of the time, it has emerged to become some kind of state of mind. The hidden anger and the confusion of misunderstandings beguile these people in living their life blanketed under the cover of assumption and preconceived notions, resulting of exclusivity among their own races.

Life may turn laughing at us or with us, but like the life itself, Crash pulls out an eventful day of any city on the earth where we are taken to realize, how we may never be able to understand the difference. Acknowledging the variety may be one small step to begin.

There are over-paranoid white upper class couple, black detective and his Latino partner, a Hispanic low class family, a struggling Arabic enterpreneurs trying to make a living in this chaotic city filled with compromises and consequences of every racial thoughts that translate to their action. The juxtaposition of these characters' actions may leave you shocked on how looks can be deceiving. Appearances can not be taken for their face-values, especially not in the time of gun-culture when anyone at any given time may shield themselves by pointing guns at any other human beings for any reason under the name of protection.

It may be a fictional place to see, yet the facial expressions of these people tell anguishes some of us have to bear everyday. Others may put it as "c'est la vie", but to me, Crash shows that in a place where angels flock in, the paradise is far ahead to reach.