Mathieu Kassovitz achieved international success as an actor in "Amelie" and also played Robert in Steven Spielberg's "Munich." Kassovitz's major impact as a director (so far) was a gritty, documentary-looking melodrama called "La Haine" (hatred) that he wrote, directed, produced, and starred in in 1995. It was not a one-man triumph, since the hand-held camera work of Peter Aim was also outstanding (it was nominated for a Cesar award) and there were fine performances by an ensemble cast (Vincent Cassell, son of Jean-Pierre and husband of Monica Bellucci, also was nominated for a Cesar award; the movie won the best picture award, but Kassovitz was not judged best director there; he had picked up a best director award at Cannes, however).

The movie is shot in one of the rough housing projects (banlieuex) that ring Paris, Like the set-up for a bad joke it presents an Arab Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui, The Good Thief), a black African (Hubert Koundè , from The Constant Gardener), and a Jew Vinz (Vincent Cassel) who are buddies and equally scornful of the police. Saïd is the clown and also the one with be best connections to higher status within the projects (an older brother who is a gangster of some renown). There is some buddy comedy along the way, but there is never any question that things are going to explode and go badly

A riot/police-riot has burned down the local gym where Vinz trains to be a boxer. During the riots a policeman lost his gun, which falls into the hands of Vinz, who is enraged at the beating of a friend (Abdel) by the police. His role model is Travis Bickel in "Taxi Driver," which does not suggest that everyone will live happily ever after! Maybe Hubert will get the hell out of this hell?

The movie was shot on color stock and transferred to black and white, I learned on the Criterion DVD. It has a great "crime movie" look, though it is a "social protest" movie rather than a "crime movie." Can I say that it's like a multicultural "Trainspotting" with more visual flash and lots fewer drugs?

The DVD has an introduction by Jodie Foster (well, she has some experience of revenge dramas, including a current release and championed Kassovitz 's film). A second disc has deleted scenes and a 90-minute reunion ten years later documentary.

(My partner programmed this grueling but very accomplished movie and helped me with the French -- and the English, and urged me to write about some immigrant stuff in trying to go 10 for 10. He loves mirror shots and demanded I mention that Peter Aim shot in this movie)

The key line of the movie is "What counts is not how you fall but how you land." To find out who lands how, you gotta watch the movie. Also if you are interested in racial politics or the art or craft of cinema editing, you gotta watch the movie -- which has not been written about recently on Epinions and which has the full Criterion adding to the canon two-disc bonus-filled treatment.




Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD