Shot in an appropriately bleak black and white, the story follows Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Hubert (Hubert Kounde) and Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui) in the 24 hours following riots in their harsh Parisienne suburb, during which their friend Abdel is beaten to within inches of his life by police and is intensive care as a result. Kassowitz originally shot the film in colour, but switched to black and white in post-production, a decision which in my opinion benefits the film: the relentless repression of expression by the French state and the irrevocable discrimination against these people are issues addressed throughout. The major issue presented is doubtless that of police brutality. Countlessly referred to as 'pigs' by the main characters and portrayed as violent thugs and hypocrites, the French police are certainly the main target in what this film tries to say. The narrative centres on Vinz finding a policeman's revolver after the previous night's riots and his subsequent power trip, which results in him vowing to shoot a police officer if Abdel finally dies as a result of his beating. This 'suburb' or 'banlieue' is not akin to those we have in Britain and certainly not to those in the USA: almost everyone is either unemployed or not attending school, and everyone seems to be bored, trapped inside this monotonous, sprawling mini-city. We see some beautiful shots which tell us Kassowitz has an impressive bag of tricks: it's a shame he's went on to make Vin Diesel popcorn fodder. The performances really are second-to-none, Cassel leading the pack with his portrayal of the egotistical and brash fantasist Vinz, who dangerously models himself on Travis Bickle from Scorsese's Taxi Driver. It's no surprise he went on to star in films as good as L'Appartement and Irreversible, as this really is a larger-than-life piece of acting. The soundtrack of French hip-hop is brilliantly refreshing. If one was to construct an introduction to this insightful genre, it probably wouldn't be far from the track listing of La Haine. The supporting cast hold their own, particularly the police force: all but one of them belligerent and ignorant. However, this is not as biased a work as it first appears. Our main characters do nothing to help themselves, and they will never escape this desperate way of life unless they sacrifice their pride. This really is a tale of two sides unwilling to back down, and chaos, horror and grime ensue. This is not to say the French governing bodies were at all satisfied with it. Then Minister for the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy (yes, him) and Kassowitz exchanged a series of letters on the film's attitude towards police brutality, and the film has continued to be referenced whenever the suburbs erupt. A poignant piece of work, La Haine will not disappoint cinema fans into the likes the French New Wave or similar modern films such as City of God, with which it can draw many parallels. Its unrelenting entertainment is hard to come by in a film addressing such morbid issues. David Crow |
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A film which will never escape controversy, Mathieu Kassowitz's La Haine is a story of three friends (one black, one Jewish and one Arabic) struggling to cope with the harsh realities of life in tough suburban Paris.
yh babeh
ok so i just watched the most confusing and annoying thing in school, la haine. and im not french and the subtiltes were really rubbish on the white background. i have no review to say on this film bedcause it did not make sense.
what was with the funny camera shot a shaky camera, what effect does this make i really dont know. and why the suddeen scene change and the digital clock timings?
if someone can answer that thanks because i really dont know and its for my homework.
thanks lots of love.
plus the ending wasnt a shock you could tell that from the enviroment they were in
Care for characters
WARNING: Mild Spoilers
I've just watched this recently for the fist time, I was astounded by the films visual style combined with its raw energy. I also feel that it's more balanced than you've given it credit for in this review, there's only one of the main characters we actually care about (indicative of a non-sympathetic portrait) and there's only one cop we identify with as well, this shows balance as everyone else is either moronically violent for violence sake or discriminate and over police the neighborhood out of some deluded sense of petty justice. They're all guilty on both sides of the law. The problem is that when we eventually reach the end of the films narrative and the final conclusion, I didn't care, I didn't flinch, I wasn't shocked. The end was tragically predictable, but perhaps even more tragically - it solicited no emotional response from me.
Huh? - **WARNING - SPOILER!!**
I am not alone in caring about all 3 of the main characters.
Yes, Vincent Cassel's performance excels in the picture. We witness a distinct change in his character throughout the course of the night. From his initial ignorance of his situation and his desire to gain the respect of his peers in the housing projects, through to his realisation that he does not necessarily need to become a product of his environment, the viewer tags along on his educational journey into manhood.
This journey takes the form of an education from Hubert - the voice of reason who himself cannot escape the life that Vince initially embraces so enthusiastically. Hubert who tries with all his might to educate Vince and who becomes frustrated that Vince cannot see that :"La haine attire la haine!"
These extreme characters are complimented by the happy-go-lucky Said, who jokes, tells stories, and serves as a counterpoint to the emotionally charged characters of Vince and Hubert.
At the end of the movie, although not shocked by the outcome, I wanted to scream at the TV simply because of the emotional attachment to the characters. The sense of injustice was overwhelming. Hubert finally gets through to Vince during an altercation with a skinhead, but the brutality surrounding the characters throughout the movie suddenly manifests itself in the most horrible way.
Feeling as trapped as the characters themselves, this viewer certainly cared enough about them to react.
This is a wonderful piece of cinema.
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