La Haine - A review
January 8th 2007 20:25
La Haine produced by Mathieu Kassovitz in 1995 is a deeply affecting portrayal of a part of society that lives defensively, where violence is a significant part of their life. The literal meaning of La Haine is Hate. There is a group of ethnically diverse teenagers who live on a low-income housing estate on the outskirts of Paris. Vinz, of Jewish descent is full of rage, Hubert, a would-be boxer of African origin has learnt to contain his violence to a degree and Saïd a ‘beur’ who is often the neutral person between his two friends and their anger. They react to a society they perceive as being antagonistic towards them. They live a life far removed from the far away from affluence of middle-class or tourist Paris, their lives consists of dodging and diving authority figures, working small-scale scams like dealing dope and handling stolen goods. Hence, we see how violence begets violence.
Kassovitz begins the film with a narrated message stating, ‘How far you fall doesn’t count, it’s how you land that counts’. This message is repeated at several times during the film for emphasis. Next we have a close-up of Said’s face, followed by him spraying graffiti on the wall saying, ‘fuck the police’. Next we see television footage showing riots that took place in the projects the night before, where a friend of theirs Abdel, is seriously injured and in hospital. Vinz states that if Abdel dies, then he will avenge his death by killing a policeman. This sets the scene for an expectation of murder and death at some stage of the film. At the centre of the film’s narrative is the .44 Magnum that the police lost during the riots. Vinz somehow obtains the gun and intends to use it if Abdel dies. The camera travels quickly down the tunnel to Vinz pointing the gun at us, he makes a shooting sound and the scene ends.
It would appear that the trio are not inherently violent or bad, yet their economic status, age, and demeanour allow the authorities to repeatedly single them out as troublemakers. They speak with aggression; expletatives are a normal way of expressing themselves, along with msysogonistic statements, ‘nique ta mere’ meaning ‘fuck your mother’. Their language is influenced by American pop cultural references, from movies such as Lethal Weapon and Batman. One secondary character wears a Notre Dame jacket; another wears a shirt that states "Elvis Shot JFK." Another character is nicknamed "Walmart.", a popular American chain store.
The American flavour is reinforced by the existence of The Eiffel Tower in back of a scene and their lives. The affluence and romance usually represented by these monuments are unattainable to this trio of friends; they live in a battle zone far removed from Paris’ famous symbol. The presence of the Eiffel Tower seems to enhance this gulf; showing that they are closer to the South Central Los Angeles scene depicted in Boyz n the Hood than Paris and its accustomed romanticism. It is a male-dominated world, where boxing is a recreational pastime and voices on the soundtrack are virtually all male apart from a snippet of Edith Path’s ‘Je ne regrette rien’ played softly in the background.
The music in the film reinforces its authenticity, consisting usually of rap gangster style music with lyrics blaring that echo their feelings about being alienated from society.’ An advertisement billboard is shown several times through the film with the statement, ‘The World Is Yours". At the end of the film, Hubert repeats the story that was narrated at the beginning, emphasising that it is a ‘story of a society that is falling, ‘implying that France is descending into civil war This is ironic as clearly, the reality is that the world is not theirs. These young men have little choices. Their lives are predetermined and, if they protest, there are plenty of police around to keep them in their places.
The use of black and white for La Haine creates a sombre atmosphere. It later becomes apparent that it symbolises contrast between the two cultures as black and white emphasises skin colour, especially Hubert. It also creates a grunge feeling, a greyness that is evident in their world. The lack of an on-screen colour palette helps to stress the bleakness and sterility of his characters' surroundings where the deeper and darker images work the best. The use of a hand-held camera gives the film a gritty, cinema-verite feel, and further accentuates their disorientation.
During a few points in the film, it seems Vinz will use the gun, but Hubert persuades him not to. We even see an envisioned image in Vinz’s mind of using the gun. In the final scene, Vinz submits the gun to Hubert. The camera is then closely focussed on Hubert, as Said and Vinz walk away in the background telling jokes. The camera then moves to the outside of the building where the police have caught up with Vinz and he is shot dead. The camera follows Hubert as he moves towards the policeman and points the gun at his head. The policemen reacts by pointing his gun at Hubert’s head. The camera then focusses on Said’s scared face. He closes his eyes and we hear two gunblasts as the screen goes black.
Here's a YouTube - La Haine Excerpt
Kassovitz begins the film with a narrated message stating, ‘How far you fall doesn’t count, it’s how you land that counts’. This message is repeated at several times during the film for emphasis. Next we have a close-up of Said’s face, followed by him spraying graffiti on the wall saying, ‘fuck the police’. Next we see television footage showing riots that took place in the projects the night before, where a friend of theirs Abdel, is seriously injured and in hospital. Vinz states that if Abdel dies, then he will avenge his death by killing a policeman. This sets the scene for an expectation of murder and death at some stage of the film. At the centre of the film’s narrative is the .44 Magnum that the police lost during the riots. Vinz somehow obtains the gun and intends to use it if Abdel dies. The camera travels quickly down the tunnel to Vinz pointing the gun at us, he makes a shooting sound and the scene ends.
It would appear that the trio are not inherently violent or bad, yet their economic status, age, and demeanour allow the authorities to repeatedly single them out as troublemakers. They speak with aggression; expletatives are a normal way of expressing themselves, along with msysogonistic statements, ‘nique ta mere’ meaning ‘fuck your mother’. Their language is influenced by American pop cultural references, from movies such as Lethal Weapon and Batman. One secondary character wears a Notre Dame jacket; another wears a shirt that states "Elvis Shot JFK." Another character is nicknamed "Walmart.", a popular American chain store.
The American flavour is reinforced by the existence of The Eiffel Tower in back of a scene and their lives. The affluence and romance usually represented by these monuments are unattainable to this trio of friends; they live in a battle zone far removed from Paris’ famous symbol. The presence of the Eiffel Tower seems to enhance this gulf; showing that they are closer to the South Central Los Angeles scene depicted in Boyz n the Hood than Paris and its accustomed romanticism. It is a male-dominated world, where boxing is a recreational pastime and voices on the soundtrack are virtually all male apart from a snippet of Edith Path’s ‘Je ne regrette rien’ played softly in the background.
The music in the film reinforces its authenticity, consisting usually of rap gangster style music with lyrics blaring that echo their feelings about being alienated from society.’ An advertisement billboard is shown several times through the film with the statement, ‘The World Is Yours". At the end of the film, Hubert repeats the story that was narrated at the beginning, emphasising that it is a ‘story of a society that is falling, ‘implying that France is descending into civil war This is ironic as clearly, the reality is that the world is not theirs. These young men have little choices. Their lives are predetermined and, if they protest, there are plenty of police around to keep them in their places.
The use of black and white for La Haine creates a sombre atmosphere. It later becomes apparent that it symbolises contrast between the two cultures as black and white emphasises skin colour, especially Hubert. It also creates a grunge feeling, a greyness that is evident in their world. The lack of an on-screen colour palette helps to stress the bleakness and sterility of his characters' surroundings where the deeper and darker images work the best. The use of a hand-held camera gives the film a gritty, cinema-verite feel, and further accentuates their disorientation.
During a few points in the film, it seems Vinz will use the gun, but Hubert persuades him not to. We even see an envisioned image in Vinz’s mind of using the gun. In the final scene, Vinz submits the gun to Hubert. The camera is then closely focussed on Hubert, as Said and Vinz walk away in the background telling jokes. The camera then moves to the outside of the building where the police have caught up with Vinz and he is shot dead. The camera follows Hubert as he moves towards the policeman and points the gun at his head. The policemen reacts by pointing his gun at Hubert’s head. The camera then focusses on Said’s scared face. He closes his eyes and we hear two gunblasts as the screen goes black.
Here's a YouTube - La Haine Excerpt
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Comment by katyzzz
Photography Tips
MS Paint Art
You've given us a very interesting post, but there's nothing new about these social factors is there?
It is apparent that anyone in their right mind, not so supposedly disadvantaged as this lot, would use the language of violence with its violent expletives as his/her everyday tools but we are seeing it more and more.
Leaving us casting down rather than inspiring up.
I hope I haven't been too obscure in what I say, my convictions are very strong and with all the sympathy in the world things are getting worse, not better and one is forced to question why?
A thoughtful and provocative post. Well done.
katyzzz
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for your comments and thoughts, I see what you're saying.
I guess the difference (for me anyway), was learning more about France and these issues. I first saw the film when it was released and hadn't travelled much then and I was shocked that Paris was dealing with the same big city issues that occured in London or New York. I was probably a bit naive, but at the same time I learnt much about the situation which to me means the film has been affective.
But yes, the film doesn't give any solutions, rather it strongly highlights these issues...I would assume in the hope that exposing them might/could lead to change.
Byee
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
Giving us a deeper understanding of how society has created this struggle, letting us walk in their shoes.
Matthew Kassovitch (Crimson Rivers) is a talented filmmaker who manages to displace us into his France and confront us with a universal problem that is global.
A powerful and moving film that features authentic performances, a gripping narrative and tough B&W cinematography to enhance the atmosphere of desperation.
A must see
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Like you, I didn't expect that kind of grim, American-style hatred to be evident in France, but now, after those riots, we see more and more of this element in French society.
Vincent Cassel, what a role. And then he would go on to marry Monica Belluci. A charmed life.
The French in this movie is so vulgar and crass - it's almost beautiful to listen to, nothing like the elegant french we've been taught in school...
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for your comments, good to see you. What a coincidence that you were talking about it with Bryn. For some reason I created two posts about La Haine and couldn't delete one...so Bryn just commented on the other one. I think that's what happens when I do things too early in the morning, ah well.
I found it fascinating to see this film again. I saw it for the first time when it was released at the cinema and it's been etched in my mind since. I found it interesting how I could understand the film better second time around. As I said, I naively thought these were issues that happened in other cities, not Paris. I didn't even realise Paris was so multicultural. Now I've travelled, I'm older and have seen and experienced some of the issues that Kassovitch was talking about. And its violence didn't scare me as much as the last time, it needed to be there.
I agree, John, Kassovitch effectively creates displacement. The use of black and white is perfect.
Oh yes, Cib. The French was almost another language wasn't it? I thought the difference was strongly magnified in the toilet scene with the old guy. His French was much more elegant.
What a film...
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
While I can see what katyzzz said about it not giving any answers but opens up so many issues, I think that if a film tries to solve too much, sometimes it can end up being too trite and confusing and losing emphasis. I think this is one of the reasons that Babel didn't completely work for me.
Tracy
Comment by KylieW
Celebrity Obsession
I've never heard of this film, but I'm definitely going to have to see it now. Great review. Sounds really fascinating.
KylieW
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for popping in and for your comments. I found it quite hard to it (harder than I was expecting in fact) and my video shop said it's not available on DVD - but JohnD probably knows more about than me. I watched it on video which I didn't mind but I would've liked to see what extras were on the DVD. Hope you see it,
Tracy
Comment by Cibbuano
Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak
Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
I believe the UK version is the best DVD edition, crisp transfer and a Directors Commentary included.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks, John, that's good info to know about the UK DVD, I imagine that the director's commentary was fascinating...
Tracy
Comment by George
The Re-Parenting Revolution
thank you for the kind words on my blog. I have not seen the film but you have piqued my curiousity.
In peace and gratitude,
George
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life
Thanks for dropping in and for your comments. This is definitely a film worth seeing if you get a chance.
Tracy
Comment by Bryn
Horrorphile
I just came back to say that.
Comment by Tracy
Movies and Life