Crash: Movie Review
I happened to see Crash yesterday, on the same day that it won the Oscar statuette for Best Film. While the Oscars are not necesarily a benchmark for great movies or great acting (Among others Tom Hanks won one for Forrest Gump a role where he needed to act as little as the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park) this is one that they got right. I must take a minute here to thank Nilufer for insisting that I see the movie.
For starters it is a great movie in the sense that it does not depend on a powerhouse performance from an actor but has a great story to tell and the movies are ultimately about telling stories and not showcasing individual talents. So if you are going to watch the film because of Sandra Bullock or not going to watch it because of her then you are making a mistake. Everyone from Don Cheadle, Ludacris, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon to Brendon Fraser (The Mummy Man) have small roles which are not memorable in themselves.
The movie deals with the subject of racism in a particularly insightful manner and at the end of the movie I found myself examining the racist within me. In so far as I am concerned most of us are racist in our own manner whether it is our suspicion of a lower class (the ring is missing it must be the maid who did it - until you find it in the pillow case) or a suspicion of the plumber who comes to fix the pipes (have i kept the wallet away).
The story deals with an ensemble of characters who are complexed (either superiorly or inferiorly) about their own race. So the Iranian is worried that all the whites are trying to cheat him because he is an Iranian immigrant who cannot speak English and yet is disgusted that they dare think of him as an Arab while the blak car-jacker is obsessed with the idea of everything being discriminatory towards the blacks. And if upbringing could deal with th beast of racism then how is it that the policeman who is seemingly a racist is the child of a man who never resented the blacks even when they lost his job.
The more I think about it it seems to me that racism is inherent in all of us. Somewhere the collective stereotypes imposed on us are lurking and when the appropriate moment arrives the beast takes over man before he or she knows it.
Here's a movie that is disturbing at times and there are scenes when you would rather not watch (not because they are gory but because of the sher disgust they induce). It might be set in America but here is a film that is probably relevant anywhere in the world where people are settled and prejucices exist.
Given the number of films that our fil-makers are inspired by one does hope that someone is inspired by this one and makes a film which takes on the subject in a manner relevant to the Indian context.
So watch it and enjoy the bundle of contradictions that we human beings are. It's well worth the money that one pays for the entrance.
For starters it is a great movie in the sense that it does not depend on a powerhouse performance from an actor but has a great story to tell and the movies are ultimately about telling stories and not showcasing individual talents. So if you are going to watch the film because of Sandra Bullock or not going to watch it because of her then you are making a mistake. Everyone from Don Cheadle, Ludacris, Sandra Bullock, Matt Dillon to Brendon Fraser (The Mummy Man) have small roles which are not memorable in themselves.
The movie deals with the subject of racism in a particularly insightful manner and at the end of the movie I found myself examining the racist within me. In so far as I am concerned most of us are racist in our own manner whether it is our suspicion of a lower class (the ring is missing it must be the maid who did it - until you find it in the pillow case) or a suspicion of the plumber who comes to fix the pipes (have i kept the wallet away).
The story deals with an ensemble of characters who are complexed (either superiorly or inferiorly) about their own race. So the Iranian is worried that all the whites are trying to cheat him because he is an Iranian immigrant who cannot speak English and yet is disgusted that they dare think of him as an Arab while the blak car-jacker is obsessed with the idea of everything being discriminatory towards the blacks. And if upbringing could deal with th beast of racism then how is it that the policeman who is seemingly a racist is the child of a man who never resented the blacks even when they lost his job.
The more I think about it it seems to me that racism is inherent in all of us. Somewhere the collective stereotypes imposed on us are lurking and when the appropriate moment arrives the beast takes over man before he or she knows it.
Here's a movie that is disturbing at times and there are scenes when you would rather not watch (not because they are gory but because of the sher disgust they induce). It might be set in America but here is a film that is probably relevant anywhere in the world where people are settled and prejucices exist.
Given the number of films that our fil-makers are inspired by one does hope that someone is inspired by this one and makes a film which takes on the subject in a manner relevant to the Indian context.
So watch it and enjoy the bundle of contradictions that we human beings are. It's well worth the money that one pays for the entrance.
posted by bababull at 9:18 PM
2 Comments:
You're welcome :-)
Check the spelling tho!
Niloufer
Yes I agree its a fabulous movie, Cant understand why it was a surprise winner, however need to see Good Night and Good Luck before i say anything,We are all racist, and being abroad has made no change, i would go a step further and say i have become worse.
Anyone who thinks Don Cheadle( thats if you remember him) is a good actor, please see Hotel Rwanda
Triveni
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