La Haine

The first time I saw this movie I really really love it. I've been ranting about it a lot lately and when I was thinking about why I loved it so much, I wasn't exactly sure. So the other night I decided to watch it again. This time I watched it with the intent of discovering my love for it. I did. Firstly, the entire movie was shot in black and white. Sometimes I veer away from that, and I'm sure that holds true for many people, but the black and white enhances this film so much. It gives it a touch of agelessness, it leads the viewer to think that what is being shown in the film is not only true for the time that it is taking place, but for always. There is so much about this film that really infatuates me. Mathieu Kassovitz was truly brilliant in everything he did with it. There were so many small features of La Haine that I never would have noticed had they not been pointed out, but at the same time they were so brilliant and when I noticed them I became so excited because I'm starting to notice that it's the tiny parts of a movie that make it stand out from all the rest. For example, before each of the three main characters are introduced (Said, Vinz, and Hubert) their names are shown in a unique, really subtle way. In learning this I also learned that Mathieu Kassovitz used the techniques of other directors. After just watching a Spike Lee film I could see some techniques borrowed from him (zooming into an object and dutch angles just to name a few). There are a few really pointless things that go on in La Haine, they are mostly stories that people are telling to Said, Vinz, and Hubert. The actual meaning of each story has utterly no point, but that's the point. Mathieu Kassovitz puts this pointlessness into the air to show off the meaningless life these people of the ghetto lead. For me, La Haine is so much more about the cinematography than it is anything else. There is no real solid, cohesive plot line, but that's kind of the beauty of it. There is a tremendous political meaning to this film. At the time it was made there were many riots in Paris about the death of a young man, he died due to police brutality, so consequently this film kind of has an underlying anti police sentiment. Perhaps you wont be able to understand what I'm about to say unless you've seen the movie, but it should be said. Mathieu Kassovitz does not want people to have the underlying feeling that all black people are drug dealers, that's why he makes it very blatant that some black characters in this film do not touch drugs. He attempts to do the same for police men. He does not want the viewer to come out of this film thinking all police men are "pigs," that's why he places two very obviously good police in the film. There is so much more I could say about La Haine. I could go on and on about how beautiful and innovative it is, but I will not, partially because I really can't do this movie justice and partially because this is getting too long. I will instead encourage anyone who craves something different to see this masterpiece.