La Haine (Criterion Collection)
starring: Vincent Cassel, Saïd Taghmaoui, Hubert Koundé, Benoît Magimel, Francois Toumarkine
directed by: Mathieu Kassovitz
directed by: Mathieu Kassovitz
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Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Binding: DVD
Brand: Image Entertainment
EAN: 0715515023023
Format: Black & White, DVD-Video, Subtitled, Widescreen, NTSC
Label: Criterion
Manufacturer: Criterion
Number Of Items: 2
Publisher: Criterion
Region Code: 1
Release Date: April 17, 2007
Running Time: 97 minutes
Sales Rank: 7554
Studio: Criterion
Theatrical Release Date: February 23, 1996
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Editorial Review:
Description:
When he was just twenty-nine years old, Mathieu Kassovitz took the international film world by storm with La haine (Hate), a gritty, unsettling, and visually explosive look at the racial and cultural volatility in modern-day France, specifically in the low-income banlieue districts on Paris’s outskirts. Aimlessly whiling away their days in the concrete environs of their dead-end suburbia, Vinz, Hubert, and Saïd—a Jew, an African, and an Arab—give human faces to France’s immigrant populations, their bristling resentments at their social marginalization slowly simmering until they reach a climactic boiling point. A work of tough beauty, La haine is a landmark of contemporary French cinema and a gripping reflection of its country’s ongoing identity crisis.
Amazon.com:
It's easy to see why La Haine had such an explosive effect when it was released in France; its potent portrait of racial discord and life in the housing projects outside of Paris is at odds with France's egalitarian vision of itself. This impact wouldn't have lasted, however, were the movie purely a political statement; fortunately, it's a riveting journey that follows three unemployed young men (Said Taghmaoui, Hubert Kounde, and Vincent Cassel) as they wander and try to decide what to do with the gun that one of them has found. This simple scenario results in a remarkably complex examination of race, class, violence, and the abuse of power in modern society, yet never feels preachy or forced. Hugely influenced by American directors like Martin Scorsese and Spike Lee (particularly Do the Right Thing), La Haine riffs through different styles and techniques, yet the movie feels organic and whole, driven by a genuinely passionate point of view. Dynamic, reckless, sometimes obvious and sometimes subtle (and sometimes both; in one scene, Hubert and Said have been picked up by the police, who torture them for kicks. But watching the abuse is a rookie cop whose face quietly ripples with dismay, helplessness, and resignation), this is a must-see.
As is usual with Criterion releases, the extra features are excellent, including an in-depth but accessible documentary about the housing projects and riots that inspired the film, retrospective material on the making of the movie, behind-the-scenes horseplay, intriguing deleted scenes (with brief but revealing explanations about the deletion from director Mathieu Kassovitz), and a wonderfully articulate introduction by Jodie Foster, who championed the film upon its release and distributed it through her production company. The audio commentary by Kassovitz, who's fluent in English, is circumspect and thoughtful, with flashes of sardonic humor. Kassovitz's directing career has turned decidedly less political (his more recent movies include The Crimson Rivers and Gothika), but his perspective on La Haine and its inspirations remains sharp and lucid. --Bret Fetzer
Average Rating: 
Rating:
- It matters how you landThe film's black and white filming assumes an appropriate grittiness. So too the semi-documentary ... Read More
Rating:
- Powerful StuffIn many ways, this powerful movie is like a Chekhov story where the mere presence of a gun requires ... Read More
Rating:
- The French "Do the right thing"A film that created massive controversy when it first came out (When it was shown the local police turned ... Read More
Rating:
- Who's Gun is it Anyway?Call me crazy but La Haine is a masterpiece. Absorbing, shocking, funny, attractive, absurd, frightening-all ... Read More
Rating:
- Hip Hop, France, and Viva La Revolution! My all time top 5 movie. Great cinematography, story, and urban French hip hop depiction. Must see... enough ... Read More
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Copyright ©2003, Mark Carey.