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La Haine (1995, France)
- Director
- Matthieu Kassowitz
- Cast
- Vincent Kassel (Vinz), Hubert Kounde (Hubert), Said Taghmaoui (Said)
- Screenplay
- Matthieu Kassowitz
- Format
- Live action, black and white
- Language
- French (subtitled)
- Running time
- 96 minutes
- Classification
- 15
- Distributor
- N/A
- Genre
- Drama
- Setting
- The housing projects of Paris, mid 1990s
- Main characters
- Vinz, Said and Hubert
- Narrative focus
- Vinz, Said and Hubert
Synopsis
Abdel, a friend of Vinz's, is in a coma after being questioned by police. With his hatred for the police and dissatisfaction with life in general running high, Vinz is ready for a fight. He and his friends, aspiring boxer Hubert and drug runner, Said, hang around on the large housing projects near Paris. Vinz finds a gun lost by a policeman during a nearby riot and with Hubert and Said heads into Paris. Along the way, Hubert and Said are picked up by the police and brutally tortured. In the city, they learn of Abdel's death and Vinz wants to kill a policeman to avenge it. Their time in Paris culminates with Vinz threatening to kill a young man but ultimately not going through with this. Finally, Vinz and Said are picked up by police and Vinz is shot by a policeman.
Background
The film was inspired by a real event where a young man was murdered while being questioned at a Parisian police station. In exploring racism in the Paris suburbs, the film is a strong contrast with the more typical French films that are shown in Britain, such as Amelie (2001) and Jean de Florette (1987), which present a far more romantic and idyllic vision of French life. It is worth noting that Vinz is Jewish, Said is Arab and Hubert is African.
The director, Matthieu Kassowitz, comes from a family of filmmakers and an important tradition of French filmmaking with its emphasis on social integrity as well as a commitment to entertain. The film is also informed by American films such as Martin Scorsese's Taxi Driver (1976). While making the film, Kassowitz and his crew immersed themselves in the life of the housing estate which its key location. Originally, he wanted the Parisian section of the film to be filmed in colour, to distinguish it symbolically from the housing estate, but was not able to do this. Kassowitz also directed Metisse (France/Belgium, 1993) and Assassins (France, 1997). La Haine won the Cesar award for Best Film in 1996.
Commentary
La Haine, as a story, is more symbolic than realistic. Repeating motifs in the film a phrase, 'what is important is not how you fall but how you land,' and a poster stating 'The world is yours.' This poster is integrated into several shots, reflecting its significance to the characters and refers to a much larger debate about the opportunities and prospects of disenfranchised young men. The poster also refers to Howard Hawk's film Scarface (1932) and Brian De Palma's version, made in 1983. Both films arguably glamorise gangster culture.
Given the film's bleak locations, the images and sequences are highly cinematic. However a documentary feel is created by using a hand-held camera to follow the characters; this intensifies the drama by making it seem more spontaneous. The film is structured like a diary, with a sense of time ticking by towards its climax and impending disaster. The black and white images are frequently intense and emphasise potential danger. The section of the film set in Paris is filmed with a fixed camera that rarely moves and the characters are less free in their movements, emphasising that Paris is not their normal environment.
Also recommended
The Boy Who Stopped Talking (1996, The Netherlands, Ben Sombogaart) is a different take on the experience of immigration and displacement, through the eyes of a young Kurdish boy.
Dirty Pretty Things (2002, UK, Stephen Frears) exposes the unpalatable side of life in the UK for illegal immigrants.
Teaching suggestions (Key Stage 4, age 14-16)
Citizenship focus
- Diversity of ethnic, regional, religious identity and the need for mutual respect and understanding
- The legal and human rights and responsibilities underpinning society, basic aspects of the criminal justice system and how both relate to young people
- Freedom of the press.
Subject links
Geography: A city in Europe: contrasting locations
Freeze frame
Pause the film where the three young men stand at a bus stop in front of a poster declaring 'The World is Yours'.
- How do you read this line?
- Why is this shot here?
- What comment is the filmmaker making about French society and the young men's career prospects?
- List events that happen in the film which suggest the opposite of this catchphrase.
Pause the scene in Hubert's bedroom.
- What posters are on the wall?
- Why does the camera focus on the posters?
- What other political strategies do they connect with Hubert's community-action approach?
- Why did Hubert set up the gym and how does he feel when it is destroyed in the riot?
Sound and images
Watch the opening sequence with the sound turned down.
- What kind of film do you expect to watch from these opening images?
- Which shots are actuality footage and which are fictional or 'staged'?
- What meanings do you read from these opening images?
- Now watch the sequence with the sound up.
- What does the voiceover add to your understanding of the film opening?
- What kind of music is used to underscore the black and white images?
- Who is the singer?
- What are the lyrics?
- How does the sound add to or change your reading of the film opening?
- What different kinds of film footage are used in this opening sequence?
Spot the shots
Watch any scene set in the housing estate.
- Is the camera static or moving?
- Is the editing fast or slow?
- What effect does this have on your understanding of the scene?
Watch the scene where they go into Paris city centre at night.
- Is the camera static or moving?
- Is the editing fast or slow?
- What effect does this have on your understanding of the scene?
Identify different kinds of camera style used in the film.
- When is archive television news footage used in the film?
- When is a documentary or jerky moving style of camera work used?
- When do you see the characters through a video camera viewfinder?
- When is careful camera framing and use of particular camera angles noticeable?
- Why is the different effect of each of these camera styles on your understanding of the 'reality' of the events depicted and why?
Discussion
The following questions can be used as a starting point to focus discussion before generalising the issues that the film raises.
- Why is the film called La Haine?
- What incident sparks the riots at the beginning of the film?
- What is Vinz's approach to resolving conflict?
- What is Hubert's approach to resolving conflict?
- What happens in the film to support Hubert's line: 'Hatred breeds hatred.'?
- What happens in the film to support Vinz's view: 'Don't turn the other cheek.'?
- What message do you think the filmmakers intended to get across?
- How is Vinz shown to be influenced by media images of gangsters?
- How can the media make violence seem glamorous?
- How can the media make violence seem horrific?
- How does this film make you feel about the violence you see?
- For what reasons do you think La Haine was given a 15 certificate?
- Do you think that children under 15 years old should be able to see the film?
- How is the violence of the police presented in the film?
- What is your impression of the police officer who watches his colleagues brutally interrogate the boys?
- How is the violence of the young men presented in the film?
Simulation
Ask students to imagine that they are screenwriters and give them the following task:
You have been asked to 'translate' La Haine for a British version.
- How would you describe the three main characters?
- Who would you want to cast in each role?
- What would be the ethnic origin of each one and how would this reflect the diversity of national, regional and ethnic identity in the UK?
- Where would you set the film in the UK and how would this reflect the difference between a wealthy city centre and poorer housing conditions in the outer suburbs?
Research
The film was based on a real death of a young man in a Paris police station. Ask students to research police misconduct reported in the news in this country, for example the Stephen Lawrence case.
- What basic aspects of the criminal justice system were ignored or abused?
- What were the consequences?
- How are miscarriages of justice brought to public attention?
- Where can citizens go to get advice about their legal rights?
- How can the media be used to raise awareness and campaign against miscarriages of justice?
- Name examples of films which have influenced public opinion about a particular legal battle and/or criminal prosecution.
Practical production work
Students could make a 'training' video to explain the appeals procedures in the school, for students who feel they have been dealt with unfairly.
