Friday Night Flicks: La Haine
French for “hatred,” the title of La Haine should serve as a proper forewarning of the emotional intensity and bleak subject matter that waits in store for its viewers.
Mathieu Kassovitz’s 90’s crime drama focuses on the lives of three friends and wannabe thugs - Saïd, Vinz, and Hubert - living in an impoverished suburb on the outskirts of Paris. They consider themselves outcasts of society, constantly boasting to one another of their exploits in petty crime and daydreaming of retaliation against the “pigs.” None of them have ever had any taste of the real thing; over-sensationalized newsreels and tall tales from fellow street rats are all they have to gauge their perception of a criminal sphere that, in reality, is pure hell.
La Haine takes place the day after an incident of police brutality puts a local youth named Abdel in critical condition. Vinz - the most aggressive and volatile of the trio - vows to exact his revenge on a random officer if Abdel dies. Hubert, on the other hand, is more hesitant about resorting to murder, arguing that such acts are rarely justifiable.
Taking course over the span of one ill-omened day, the film follows the three friends after they stumble upon a police-issue revolver left over from the riots sparked by Abdel’s hospitalization, and traces their descent both deeper into the heart of Paris and into a life of mindless violence, crime, and utter hatred.
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La Haine is tonight’s Friday Night Flick. It’s a cautionary tale whose narrative is more relevant now than ever, and a viewing experience which serves as a hauntingly effective reminder that “hatred breeds hatred.”
Jusqu’ici tout va bien… —Jackson Todd
