Hate

I have seen La Haine a handful of times now and with each viewing it just gets better.

The first thing that stands out about the film is the cinematography. It's rare that a film like this is considered both genuine and a good example of it's art but La Haine is both.

The plotline is compelling and realistic and neatly shows the way that inner city life has gone in the big cities in France as well as proving that despite the romance of Paris, it suffers from the same problems as any other major city.

The characters are above all believable and the cast did a great job. The quality of acting is simply stunning from several actors and it would be a shame if it was simply dismissed as "just another foreign art-house movie" by audiences outside France.

Above all the film whilst showing the influences of American films and society has a very clear sense of it's own identity and at no time does it feel like another US Ghetto film transposed to France. This is a major boon to the film and it stands out of the crowd for this, even though many people will dislike it because of this. It is, however, their loss.

It's hard to recommend this film highly enough, but I should add that more than one viewing is required to get the best from La Haine.

This is a film that aims to present the yearnings of the poor and brown/black in the simplest and truest form possible. Everything for Vinz is black and white, while Hubert's world is shaded in grays. Saïd is just doing his best to keep up. Through the three main characters, our own thoughts on the state of society (police brutality, poverty, etc) are revealed. That's the beauty of the film. It asks you the questions instead of serving you the answers in a way that's not preachy but encouraging. And that ending...

Reminiscent of Costas-Gavras' film Z with its rapid-fire dialogue and staccato rhythms, La Haine (Hate) directed by 28 year-old Mathieu Kassovitz, is a passionate look at racial tensions at a Paris housing project. Although drug dealing, urban decay, and police brutality have been shown in films before, rarely have they had the sense of vitality and urgency shown in La Haine.

Three friends from different ethnic backgrounds live in the Bluebell housing projects on the outskirts of Paris. This is not the Paris of travel brochures or films like Amelie, but a desolate urban landscape, harsh and grim with housing projects that look as if they could be in any big city in the world. Vinz (Vincent Cassel), is a working class Jew; Hubert (Hubert Kounde), the most intelligent and self-reflective of the three, is an African boxer; and Said (Said Taghmaoui), an Arab from North Africa is younger but just as embittered.

The film depicts their rage against the police whom they see as oppressors. Marginalized economically and politically, without jobs, parents who care, or hope for the future, the streets are their home and they are open targets for police who are shown as brutal and racist. In one startling scene, a veteran cop taunts and physically abuses Said and Hubert while training a rookie cop. The rookie can only look on and shake his head in disbelief.

Shot in black and white, La Haine shows a single day in the lives of the three friends. Following a major riot in which a local teenager, Abdel, is critically wounded by the police, Vinz, the most volatile of the group, vows that if Abdel dies he will kill a cop to get even. Hubert wants to restrain him, and Said doesn't seem to care either way, as long as he can get his money from a drug dealer named Snoopy. When Vinz finds a Smith & Wesson 44 lost by the police during the riots, the spiral of violence escalates and builds toward a memorable conclusion.

La Haine does not offer any solutions to social problems but clearly shows the anger and frustration of people who feel trapped by their circumstances. In its depiction of a society in free-fall, it also has immediacy. Three weeks after the film was released, riots broke out in the Brixton section of London, following the death of a young black man in police custody. Though it is a wake-up call for action on society's growing gap between rich and poor, La Haine makes a powerful statement that violence does not solve anything and that hate begets hate. Someone should pass the word to a few of the world leaders.

'Mean Streets' in french - and so much more. While there are so many references to Scorsese that you could almost call it an homage, this French milestone deals with the disillusioned youth who live in the outskirts of Paris in such an elegant - and honest - way, that I would go so far as to call it the most relevant French film of the last 20 years. But it's also a cinematic masterpiece and great, often hilarious entertainment. Everything fits: the musical choices, the outstanding performances by the 3 main characters, the beautiful cinematography and flawless direction. And, perhaps most of all, THE perfect script.

As much a realistic portrayal of a torn society as it is an artistic achievement, 'La Haine' is essential viewing.

My vote: 10 out of 10

Favorite films: http://www.IMDb.com/list/mkjOKvqlSBs/

Lesser-known Masterpieces: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls070242495/

Favorite Low-Budget and B-movies: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls054808375/

Favorite TV-Shows reviewed: http://www.imdb.com/list/ls075552387/

I first saw this film in 1997, after seeing and reading reviews about it on tv and the net for a couple of years. I never thought a film could actually make you truly think about things around our world, not just how bad it can be in places like the projects set in the film. I could truly see this happening where I am from(Rochdale,Manchester,UK).

The situation set in the film is a dark and nasty one. you watch 3 friends fall apart from the aftermath of a riot in a parisian project.a friend is near-fatally injured in police custody, which sparks a chain of events, part forced onto the 3 friends, part of self-inflicted.

the acting is amazing. Vincent Cassel's performance is electrifying. his mentality is distorted with hate(hence the film name), but you truly feel he is not a bad seed. His problem is he can't see the wood for the trees, which Hubert tries to point out to him.

Hubert is a character who has the potential to better his life, but he is trapped in his parisian project cell. he tries to guide vinz to a healthier and more productive way of thinking about life.

said seems to be the one who doesn't want trouble, but it is thrust upon him. he sees the relationship between hubert and vinz, his 2 best friend, deteriorate, but doesn't know who to side with, or what to do about it.

Mathieu Kassovitz made this film in a way that you feel for both the police and the the 3 friends. It is amazing to watch, as mathieu takes the simplest things, and makes them look classy(check out the DJ scene for a true example of what I mean). he uses black and white as to colour, and it doesn't look fake, or cheesy. in fact it enhances the film more than you could imagine. you won't sit there and wish he filmed it in colour by the end. the action, although relatively mild compared to todays film, is believable.

speaking about the end, it is one of the most simplest and powerful endings I have seen in a film yet. the soundtrack is awesome too. who would have thought french hip-hop would sound so sweet.