La Haine (1995)

Quiet possibly one of my favorite ever foreign language films and surely the rebirth of the French film industry that captivated millions around the world for so long. That’s why I call this film; the French new wave part 2...

To those outside France, it’s the French version of Boyz N The Hood, to those in it and to myself, it’s a unrestrained urban thriller that moves at such a ferocious pace, you often find yourself on the edge of your seat, clingy on to your arm rest for dear life. Mathieu Kassovitz effectively uses black and white to create art out of the all the crime and violence, mastering a fine tight rope between the rawness of a poor, urban backdrop and a piece of art work that would not look a bit out of place, if it were hung in a gallery next to painting by Picasso. Uncompromising in his attempt to tell a story loosely based on actual events, about riots that lasted for more than 10 years in the French capital, Kassovitz want to portray a story in a manner that makes the whole world stop, not only to serve as mere voyeurs, but instead to actually think.

La Haine tells the story of three vastly different and conflicting characters; a Jew, an Arab and an African. That seems to come effortlessly together like a barber shop quartet. As they have to deal with the aftermath of events that lead to a young Arab teenager being beaten into a coma on the outskirts of a riot - Adding fuel to the ever growing, racial and political tension between the people in charge and the powerless individuals of the projects.

While most of us feel safe watching violence, as long as it’s on TV or film, as we are for the most part detached from what we are experiencing, but instead the aim of for this film, throughout the entire duration of the film, about a world that takes place in the course of one day, which is the time span in the film that seems to last a eternity, we are engrossed in the action throughout, so we are not comfortable or assured at all, instead we are almost bullied into reacting and reciprocate a feeling of tension, as is endured in the film between the cops and the residents of the project.

But ultimately the underlying theme of the film is a sense of hopelessness, that is nothing will ever change! It’s just a cycle. This is best represented during the opening monologue, and in the final few scenes, as a story is told and narrated, consisting of a man who jumps of a 50 story building, but to reassure himself he keeps repeating “so far, So good, so far, So good” as he hurtles to his death. This is used to show that this never ending cycle of violence and hate is never going to stop, soon enough resulting in society’s demises. But no one seems to care. As long as they are surviving, they don’t care when it’s falling, but when it crashes, that’s when they panic.

Magnificent, awesome, a compulsive viewing! This is a poignant yet humorous reminder of the harsh reality of people living in the ghettos of France. Boyz N The Hood was a great film, but it is almost eclipsed by this masterpiece and that’s saying allot. A must watch. 'The world is ours'