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La Haine -
This is one of the '90s’ great movies, and what a '90s movie it is. With its Tarantino-like conversations and monologues and Linklater-like slice of life structure, it is unmistakably of that decade and rife with the best touches of its indie movement. The movie is very much its own entity, though, especially since it does things I haven't seen before or possibly since. Perhaps only the mirror shot from Contact rivals the ingenious "you talkin' to me" scene, for instance. With that said, is it merely an aesthetic marvel? Definitely not. It totally makes you feel like you're walking in the shoes of someone society has deemed as undesirable and second-class. I'll never forget Cassell's work as Vinz - whose downward spiral is appropriately on par with Travis Bickle's - nor the work of Taghmaoui or Kounde as his best friends. Speaking of, the movie is just as invaluable as a study on the roots of friendship, and while it can only help so much, it does help whether it’s because you need a nudge in the right direction, or which this manages to do many times despite its underlying darkness, a reason to laugh.
So, in what category does this movie belong? I've seen it labeled as a social drama, which fits, and with its aesthetics, criminal element, hero’s desire for revenge and confusion over what's good and what's bad, a neo-noir, which also fits. Regardless, the best movies tend to not fit neatly into any single category, and besides, the important thing is that it succeeds in making you realize how hatred and violent impulses develop. It also makes you understand how one can believe that they are the only means of escape. Sadly, such believers are just as likely to be on their receiving end.
This is one of the '90s’ great movies, and what a '90s movie it is. With its Tarantino-like conversations and monologues and Linklater-like slice of life structure, it is unmistakably of that decade and rife with the best touches of its indie movement. The movie is very much its own entity, though, especially since it does things I haven't seen before or possibly since. Perhaps only the mirror shot from Contact rivals the ingenious "you talkin' to me" scene, for instance. With that said, is it merely an aesthetic marvel? Definitely not. It totally makes you feel like you're walking in the shoes of someone society has deemed as undesirable and second-class. I'll never forget Cassell's work as Vinz - whose downward spiral is appropriately on par with Travis Bickle's - nor the work of Taghmaoui or Kounde as his best friends. Speaking of, the movie is just as invaluable as a study on the roots of friendship, and while it can only help so much, it does help whether it’s because you need a nudge in the right direction, or which this manages to do many times despite its underlying darkness, a reason to laugh.
So, in what category does this movie belong? I've seen it labeled as a social drama, which fits, and with its aesthetics, criminal element, hero’s desire for revenge and confusion over what's good and what's bad, a neo-noir, which also fits. Regardless, the best movies tend to not fit neatly into any single category, and besides, the important thing is that it succeeds in making you realize how hatred and violent impulses develop. It also makes you understand how one can believe that they are the only means of escape. Sadly, such believers are just as likely to be on their receiving end.