Crash (2004) #1
 

opening may 6th.......now this looks interesting......

http://home.earthlink.net/~mukooh/crash.jpg

trailer here

You can never have enough films about racism and prejudice ;)

Seriously, this is good timing in that I think with all the other problems of the world like war, terrorism and other hardships... We, at least in America, like to just wash our hands of the whole race issue when in fact it never went away and effects each and every one of us on a daily basis, regardless if you are a person of color or Caucasian.

This is almost like the flip side of the 1991 film, "Grand Canyon" about race relations in Los Angeles that took place right on the tail of the Rodney King Verdict and riots.

Agreed - you both know I've got strong views on the issue and can't wait to see how this plays out.

And surprise! A movie that seems to have a bit of thought behind it. Go figure.

that was a great movie!!!......

Well that looks interesting; possibly a little too "contemplative" for my tastes, but it did peak my interest. I think I'll give this one a try. The only thing is, watching the trailer I didn't get the sense that this movie was about race. I dunno, I guess as a white person I don't really think about race often since it's never really affected me.

it looks hecka interesting! I can't wait to see it!

http://tvplex.go.com/buenavista/eber...per/today.html

Ebert and Roeper gave it two thumbs up. In fact, Ebert said it will probably go on his list of best movies of the year. I'm definitely getting more interested in seeing it. Apparently it's very provocative and should stur some discussions.

Oh, crap - I meant to post about that review...and you're right. Now that I know even more about the film I'm absolutely determined to watch it. I can't wait, even though I think I'll be deeply disturbed by it.

I'm really interested in seeing what is provocative about it. I know earlier I sad it looked like a "contemplative" movie but now I don't think that's such a bad thing, which I seemed to have implied. This doesn't seem like a movie you'll go see and then forget about.

just listened to ebert and roeper's audio review that was posted here...i forgotten that it was directed and written by paul haggis ('mdb').....now more than ever i want to see this film.....hopefully it's bound to create discussion.....not only on this thread but elsewhere........

I can't wait to see this movie. It looks like it's going to be a great one. It has a great cast in it so you know it's gonna be well acted. The previews for it just look so great

I'd probably watch this too. :)

in his on-line column today (5-6-05).....this is how roger ebert ended is :star::star::star::star: review of 'crash'........


.......Not many films have the possibility of making their audiences better people. I don't expect "Crash" to work any miracles, but I believe anyone seeing it is likely to be moved to have a little more sympathy for people not like themselves. The movie contains hurt, coldness and cruelty, but is it without hope? Not at all. Stand back and consider. All of these people, superficially so different, share the city and learn that they share similar fears and hopes. Until several hundred years ago, most people everywhere on earth never saw anybody who didn't look like them. You may have to look hard to see it, but "Crash" is a film about progress.

Metro Toronto - May 6, 2005


Car theft inspires Crash

Director wonders why strangers fear each other

http://www.metronews.ca/uploadedImag...ris_articl.jpg

Crash author Paul Haggis is also the Oscar-nominated screenwriter behind Million Dollar Baby.

When Canadian-born director Paul Haggis was carjacked coming out of a Blockbuster Video store in a posh Los Angeles neighbourhood, the Oscar-nominated screenwriter (Million Dollar Baby) wasn't overcome with rage so much as questions.

Who were the two young men who had stolen his car? How long had they been doing this, and why did they go out of their way to also steal the movie that he and his wife had rented?

The incident served as a launching point for Crash, a story of Los Angelinos whose lives collide in a series of tragic events. Along the way, their interaction is dictated largely by their fears of one another.

"What I wanted to do in a film was to say that those fears can be founded and can be completely ridiculous," Haggis told Metro in an interview last month. "We all harbour these great paradoxes within us and you see that in the film. Nobody is exactly who you think they are."

Although Crash, with its all-star ensemble cast including Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Brendan Fraser, Sandra Bullock, Thandie Newton, Ryan Phillippe and Chris "Ludacris" Bridges, may seem like a commentary about Los Angeles' racial divisions, Haggis stresses that his intention was to write about how and why strangers fear each other.

A catalyst for that fear, he says, came with the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

"It's like our president has suggested we should be (afraid of each other). He's said that what we should do is look out for suspicious people. I don"t know anyone who"s not suspicious looking," he says.

"We were afraid of our neighbours, they could be living right next to us, but they could be harbouring some secret that could destroy us. That is so contradictory to what we need as human beings. I feel we have this sort of need to be around people that are different than us."

Although Haggis has long been a successful writer in television, he says that the success of Million Dollar Baby and, he hopes, Crash (filmed prior to Baby), have given him the opportunity to make the films for which he's most passionate.

"When (lives) collide you never know what's going to happen," he says. "These collisions are great things for us and it's important that we continue to crash into each other so that we feel something."

CHRIS ATCHISON/Metro Toronto

It's so refreshing to read about this movie's elements, I bet the movie itself will be a gem!