52in52: La Haine

La Haine’s translated name, “Hate”, is very fitting. The movie centers around 3 friends, Vinz, Hubert and Sayid, after some Paris riots in 1995. Following the protests, their friend Abdel was taken and beaten by the police. The friends hear about it on the news, and the rest of the movie is kinda of just a snapshot of their day. My friend described it as a realistic glimpse into what life would have been like for a young Parisian in the projects during the riots. I think aesthetically the movie is done very well, the shots are intentional, the score is minimal but suspenseful, and the entire movie is in black and white. I remember reading somewhere that the civil rights photos were shown in black and white to make them feel older. I don’t know how true that is, but I find that the film grain, along with the grayscale, makes La Haine feel much older than 1995.

There isn’t much of a plot to the story. To me, it’s a character study of the 3 friends and their reactions to the riots. However, I’ll leave more of those thoughts to the spoilered section. As the movie doesn’t have a plot, we couldn’t really tell how long the movie went on for without checking, which made for an interesting experience. This style of movie isn’t supposed to have a plot, there isn’t necessarily an end with a nicely wrapped bow. Overall, I enjoyed watching the movie. Based on my rating scale, I’d give it a 3/5, where I’d recommend watching it once because it was a worthwhile experience. Next weeks movie is the Dead Poet Society!

The list:

I started the review stating that the name “Hate” was fitting. There were different cycles of hate. Hubert hates the projects, and he wants to leave them by raising his economic status. Vinz hates the way society is structured and believes the riots are the way to fight back. He also hates the cops. The entire movie, he has disdain for the police for what they did to Abdul. He constantly said throughout the movie that if Abdul dies, he would kill a cop in return. Hubert tries to talk him out of it, explaining that hate only breeds hate. But alas, in the end, their roles reverse. Vinz can’t follow through with killing a person, even someone as evil as a Nazi and Hubert ends up at least attempting to kill a cop to avenge Vinz, as the cycle of hate continues.