Walking down a Los Angeles street at night, two black men argue about what just happened: A white woman moved closer to her husband as she passed the two men.
This white woman sees two black guys ... and her reaction is blind fear
one yells. If anybody should be scared it's us: the only two black faces surrounded by a sea of over-caffeinated white people patrolled by the trigger-happy LAPD. So
why aren't we scared?
Because we have guns? the other asks.
Then they pull the guns.
This scene, early in Paul Haggis' 2005 Crash
is the first indication that all bets are off. In navigating the lives of characters of all races during one day in L.A., Crash shows racism and prejudice are alive and well, but also argues that on a deeper level, we are human, and thus compassionate. One thing Crash does not do, however, is try to solve the dilemma it illuminates, and it is one of three 2005 films that did it brilliantly.
One such film, Steven Spielberg's Munich
concerns race and perception much like Crash. In dramatizing the Israeli government's charge to avenge the murders of 11 Israeli Olympians by terrorist group Black September at the 1972 Munich Olympics, the film presents the plights of Israel and Palestine and allows characters from both sides to present strong arguments.
These arguments are unsettling, because they all make sense, deconstructing every good guy/bad guy rule the movies have taught. Critics have bashed Munich for humanizing those responsible for the Olympic tragedy in the film; we merely see that these targets had kids and stood on hotel balconies engaging in polite small talk before they were blown to bits. It's true, isn't it?
Instead of hiding behind one side or another, Munich simply says everyone has a reason we must consider, even on an international scale.
Reasons and choices are the core of the most bizarre, disturbing American film of 2005, Todd Solondz's Palindromes. Using seven different actors for the same character - sometimes a large black woman, sometimes an androgynous boy - the film tells the story of a 13-year-old girl who gets pregnant, is forced by her parents to have an abortion and flees to pursue her dream of becoming a mother. The girl, Aviva (get the title?), meets people for and against abortion, pedophiles and Christians - and Solondz finds reason and fault with them all.
Palindromes is that rare movie that forces a constant change of perspective. Even a scene at the end that feels like closure - laying bare Solondz's philosophy that no one changes - just brings about more questions: Is there a God? Does free will exist? Is there any hope in all of this?
Racism and prejudice, religious clashes, abortion and identity will continue to be themes in movies of all merits. But Munich
(in theaters), Crash and Palindromes
(on DVD), show problems that can't be solved in two hours. They must be discussed and argued over and over. These movies are keeping these issues alive, and they do it in a way that will leave you staring at the ceiling at night.
- Matt Burns is The Post's Campus editor. Send him an e-mail at mb102503@ohiou.edu.
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