Crash

This movie won an Oscar for best Picture in 2005 I think. And yet, we'd never heard of it. Remember, it's the movie that won instead of Brokeback Mountain, which everybody had expected to be the winner that year. Have a look at the link above to check out the other movies that got Oscars that year - I've actually seen most of them, and I had at least heard of every single one of them, except Crash.

Crash was on the telly a short while back, and I found it to be an excellent movie. It's set in LA, and follows some unconnected characters through a couple of days and nights, some in the LAPD, some on the other side of the Law, some ordinary people who get caught up in it all, Black, White, Latinos, Asians, and of course, it's really all connected together. It is violent, but nothing turns out like you expect. It's a thoughtful exploration of racial prejudices, and there are some hilariously funny lines in it too. And Sandra Bullock plays a completely different character from her usual.

Well worth renting on DVD.

PS: don't read the "Characters" section in Wikipedia - it will spoil the movie for you.