La Haine (1995)

I expected the film to tackle themes of police brutality, racism and injustice which is what the film is mostly about. I also expected that the film would be unrestrained because of the title translating into ‘hate’. I was correct in this as the entire film holds nothing back when getting it’s message across.

The film takes place in Paris, France and focuses on three young delinquents, Said, Vinz and Hubert. After a riot, one of their friends ends up in hospital after being tortured by the police. When the boys find a gun, Vinz wants to use it to kill an officer if their friend dies. Hubert disagrees with this and believes that it is senseless to kill a cop as just one man. I think that the plot of the film makes sense and is clear to the audience. The film really only focuses on scenes with these three characters and their multiple encounters with the police. The clash between Hubert and Vinz is made clear as soon as the gun is found. The film is believable because it is based on real political strife that still goes on today.

I really enjoyed this film, because it showed that the director had no qualms about watering down the content. It showed the cruelty that the police can inflict and get away with in such a visceral way, especially with the scene where Said and Hubert are tied up and getting abused by the officers that arrested them. The plot was very good at creating the two sides of morality with Hubert and Vinz. Vinz was eager to kill a cop if he was given the opportunity whereas Hubert sees that as an easy way to get killed. They constantly clash because of this.

A scene that I really enjoyed was the scene where the police came to the rooftop where Said, Vinz, Hubert and other people from around the area are all hanging out. The thing that I really like about this scene is the fact that there are very few cuts in the shots. It’s mostly just one long shot with the camera moving around constantly to focus on new things. It will start on the police and then it will turn to Said’s brother with a bunch of people backing him up. This is really cool camerawork and it is able to work extremely well. I imagine that this scene would look quite clunky and unnatural if there were multiple cuts in it. I also feel that this helps the scene become more intense due to the slow turns to the police and likewise with the young people, looking very imposing. The menacing stares at each other makes the audience feel as if there is going to be a massive conflict.