Don't Avoid the Crash

As if the first movie called Crash (David Cronenberg, 1996) wasn’t disturbing enough, the 2004 film with the same name by director Paul Haggis is every bit as difficult and demanding to watch.

The plot kicks off with a motor vehicle incident that introduces us to a racially-diverse cast of characters—all connected in some way to the crash. Contrary to what the title suggests, this is a movie about racism. It takes place in Los Angeles and while you would expect black/white tension, it goes well beyond that. It seems everyone in this city has a problem with someone else. The Persian shop owner goes gunning for a young Hispanic family man. A pair of thieving young black men takes a run, literally, at a Chinese man. A pampered white woman berates everyone around her.

Twice I wanted to turn off this movie but I winced and looked away and persevered. And I’m glad I did. If nothing else, it made me realize how much more tolerant we are here in the great white north. Sure we still have miles to go before we sleep but at least we can visit a Vietnamese restaurant and have a chat with the owner or welcome a Mexican into our family and love her like a sister.