CRASH:NOT A REVIEW

This is not a review just memories from the movie CRASH that flash back each time i hear someone mention it.If you havent seen the movie well then see it and then read this it makes more sense that way, cause i might just ruin you're experience..hehe

You think you know who you are. You have no idea.

It's just another day in L.A., or is it??
The lives of few ordinary people take an unexpected and extraordinary turn when fate entwines their lives and a culturally diverse nation like America sees its citizen having their patience and tolerance tested beyond bearing levels.
Opening scene is aptly a car crash involving Don Cheadle and Jennifer Esposito that gently sets the mood of the movie. Conveniently the site of the crash is also one where a corpse was found. The mystery of the dead-man scene is used to lead onto, not the future, but the previous day to get a peek into lives of different people leading very different lives.
Brendan Fraser plays the district attorney, who, with his wife Sandra Bullock lead a life of comfort and luxury. Sandra Bullock is portrayed as a nervous freak who like most American women feels threatened by a minority of "blacks" in their country. On their way home after a cozy dinner their car is stolen by two black youngsters which fuels up Sandra's fears.
Sergeant Ryan," the RACIST PRICK", is played by Matt Dillon. He has a sick father and gets into an argument with the medical insurance company. The victims of his emotional ventilation are Terrence Howard and his wife Thandie Newton of MI2 fame. Dillon makes them pull over as they happen to be driving a car similar to the one stolen.
Dillon humiliates Terrence and molests Thandie on the pretext of checking her for any arms when she was wearing a cocktail dress.
Dillon's partner Philippe is flabbergasted at his behaviour and demands a transfer.
Cheadle and Esposito continue to investigate the case involving the shooting a black cop by a white one. Both the cops are dead but its important to make sure about the killing because it involves two very contrasting coloured men. Cheadle's mother, a drug addict continually pesters him to search for his younger brother but he never really bothers.
Toub, an Iranian shop owner buys a gun for self defence. Michael Pena plays a Hispanic locksmith who checks the security of the D.A's house where Sandra gets all hysterical and demands the locks to be changed again since she feels Michael would go and sell their keys to some gangsters.
Michael also tries to fix Toub's shop door but he tells him the door has to be completely changed which Toub fails to understand.
All of the above are just the intial starters to a series of events about to occur. Their lives, fate and future intersect in the backdrop of racial tension that could steam and blow up into a very violent scenario.
How the lives of a few people out of the millions of in L.A. seem to coincide, you wonder. Improbable you think—well that doesn't lessen the effect or the message conveyed. Fiction it is, but close to reality—that is what appeals to me about this movie.
Paul Haggis, creator of Crash has him venturing for the first time as writer/director. He has indeed assembled an astounding cast that sometimes unexpectedly delivers some powerhouse performances. The movie has so many wonderful scenes like the one when Thandia has no choice but to take Dillon's help when she is stuck in her car and how Dillon risks all to save her in spite of what happens earlier between the two.
My favorite though undoubtedly has to be the scene where Toub, the Iranian shop owner shoots Micheal Pena thinking he is responsible for his downfall and how Michael's little daughter comes right then the screen freezes and one can almost feel the pain in Micheal's eye and the regret in Toub's.
Crash definitely leaves an impact on the viewer. The narrative is not in sequence, rather its just bits and pieces of stories that have a separate entity. The beauty of the movie is that it would be incomplete if even one story is excluded.
Another striking feature in the movie is that each character does something utterly awful and also something miraculous within the span of that one day. Each terrible act if seen in seclusion might lead us to believe that this particular character is a villain, but no, Crash doesn't let you do that. It doesn't make you blame or judge. It makes you realize that there is always a REASON behind everthing, good or bad, that is done by man.
Each breakdown faced by the character makes us sympathise and see their lives and dilemmas they face. It's almost a god-like experience. It's how you imagine god views the world from up there. We all make mistakes, do our share of wrongdoings but He waits till the end of the day to see us take that one right step, make that one right decision. He is waiting.

MUSICAL BREATHS:''In the deep" by Bird york