La Haine (Mathieu Kassovitz, 1995): France

Reviewed by Max Dean. Viewed on DVD.

The French black and white film La Haine was an artistic depiction of three young men’s struggles with life in the housing projects. The film is directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, and is shot entirely in France. Kassovitz gained international recognition for this film, and is also an actor himself. For example, he acted in the film Munich. The story starts off by following an Arab boy named Said (saieed), who then goes to his friend Vinz’s house. Vinz (Vincent Cassel) is an international actor that done films in many different countries. In America, he has acted in Oceans 12, Oceans 13, and Eastern Promises. They then meet up with their friend Hubert. They are three men from completely different ethnic backgrounds, who all face the issue of identity in the ghettos of France. One of their close friends is put into a coma by the police, and this makes these men reach their breaking point.

The topics of this film are issues faced when living in housing projects, and the issues the characters must deal with are huge problems in France as they are here. The filmmaker used a movie to express his feeling of oppression in the ghettos around his country. In France many huge riots have taken place in real life, and in the film. In the beginning of the movie it reads “Rest in Peace to those who died when making this movie.” There is footage in the film of actual riots that took place that may have inspired the idea behind making this film. Riots began in the early 1990’s in France due to the state of the economy.

The film was made in 1995, which surprised me because it was done so well and seems so relevant to modern day issues. The film being made in black and white gave an artistic appeal to a realistic situation. The acting is excellent, and the characters’ names in the film are the same as the actors in real life, which added to the story.  In addition to the acting, the cinematography is very unique and gives a gritty feel to the film.

La Haine is well worth the time and the money. The audience for this film is very broad because the social issues at hand are something with which we all must deal. The film has subtitles, but that does not take anything away from the entertainment of this film. This film makes one think critically about the treatment of people, even in so called “civilized” and fairly affluent societies.