Its Paris Jim but not as we know it. (La Haine (HD DVD))

Member Name: thegoldencat

Product:	La Haine (HD DVD)
Date:	23/11/08 (66 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: If you can force yourself to watch it you will enjoy this film.

Disadvantages: Very few people will.

Overview
The tale of three friends in a Paris housing estate shortly after a great riot which has rocked Paris.

Review
This is certainly not the sort of film I normally watch or would look to buy myself. Its good to have an open mind though. Often in life, its when you do something slightly out of the usual, something you wouldn't normally do, that you experience something truelly wonderful. This is certainly the case with La Haine.

It premiered at the 1995 Cannes film festival were it won the best film prize before going on to win numerous other awards. These often seem to be prizes for grittiness to me, who can make the obscurest, least enticing film idea wins the prize. I suppose this is the case with La Haine. So what I'm apparantly saying is despite winning these awards this is still a good film.

La Haine follows three young men; Vinz a revenge driven, unpredictable nutcase, Hubert a calm, level headed African boxer and Said essentially a middle ground between the two, wandering listlessly round the poverty stricken area of the city they can't escape from. All's not well on the streets of Paris. Following the riots in which the protaganist's friend was seriously wounded, there is a great deal of tension between young people and the police.

There is a definite 'us and them' attitude amongst the young people in the neighbourhood. The atmosphere is taut and foreboding. We learn that a policeman lost his gun in the chaos of the riots. Vinz and Said drift around the neighbourhood. Boredom reigns. They meet up with their friend Hubert in the boxing gym which has fallen victim to the rioters. They discuss the lost gun and what it might mean if someone from the neighbourhood were to find it. We learn that Vinz desires revenge against the police for what has happend to their friend. From then on we chart this fractal and troubled friendship as we follow them through the mean streets of Paris in a constant battle with authority and more often than not each other.

Its hard to describe what tangible factor makes La Haine so fresh and enjoyable to watch. On face value it certainly doesn't sound as such. But the characters and events are all so starkly believable that you find yourself really caring about what happens to them at every turn.

La Haine has so much going against it: its French, its in French, its in black and white, its called La Haine what does that mean, and err its French. Despite all this and I suspect to an extent because of all this I was very suprised just how good La Haine was. A film surpassing your expectations is always nice.

Looking at these riots and I suppose racial tension in general La Haine does a fairly good job of remaining even-handed, looking at the factors and parties involved. We see idiocy on both sides, we see police brutality and of course we see the urban squalor that has given rise to the resentment and dissatisfaction that brings about the violence in the first place.

I can say now that the performances in La Haine are without exception brilliant. But I never thought the acting was good while actually watching the film simply because the actors deliver such unnervingly convincing performances that I never once saw it as acting at all. We're not talking in-your-face powerhouse performances like say Daniel Day Lewis in There Will be Blood, more; effortlessly genuine underplayed performances portraying the full gamut of human emotion and frailty.

This genuine quality is what makes La Haine such an immersive and involving experience. Film experiences such as this can often be unpleasant and difficult to watch despite being of high quality. La Haine despite the unremitting harshness of the environment isn't. This is either because of the warmth of the characters and there somehow persevering friendship or just because this world is evoked so well you just appreciate it all the more however harrowing it might be.

La Haine reperesents a unique film experience which defies classification. By turns funny, shocking and thought provoking La Haine just leaps off the screen with its wit and intelligent story.

If you have any prejudices about what sort of films you normally watch then La Haine makes a damn fine case for abandoning them. A good film is a good film and this is a very good film.

French or otherwise.


Additional
Every country to which this film was exported retained the French title meaning 'hate' coming from a sage quote of Hubert's about hate inspring hate. Every country that is, except America which changed the title to simply 'hate.' That says a lot.

Summary: In a word, stunning.