[Film] Crash

A powerful film about racism. The story is both simplistic and complicated. As a parable, the story relies much on coincidences, which would seem contrived under normal circumstances but are used to great effect in the movie. On the other hand, the movie is sophisticated in its weaving together of different threads of lives and cultures colliding and crashing (literally as well as metphorically) into each other. Certainly nothing is simple about the complex motivations behind the prejudices of the characters and the way they interact with each other. The movie is not perfect in the artistic sense, but its raw, almost childlike, honesty is refreshing and effectively moving. What makes Crash so compelling is that while it is about the incredible rage of racism, the movie itself is never angry; it is about intolerance and its dire consequences, but it is also about hope and understanding. It's a film that makes you think while at the same time keeping you on the edge of your seat with suspense and tension, and that's a rare quality in today's movies.

10/10