Haine (la)

English title: Hate

Genre: social drama (in black and white)

With: Vincent Cassel (Vinz), Hubert Koundé (Hubert), Saïd Taghmaoui (Saïd), Karim Belkhadra (Samir), Marc Duret (‟Notre Dame”), François Levantal (Astérix), Édouard Montoute (Darty), Mathieu Kassovitz (the Skinhead), Vincent Lindon (the drunk man), Benoît Magimel (Benoît), Rywka Wajsbrot (Vinz's Grandmother), Olga Abrego (Vinz's Aunt), Laurent Labasse (Cook), Choukri Gabteni (Saïd's Brother)

Director: Mathieu Kassovitz

Screenplay: Mathieu Kassovitz

Release: 1995

Studio: Egg Pictures, Kasso Inc. Productions et al.

Rating: 13+

MBiS score: 8.6/10 

 

‟You know what's right and wrong?” 

 

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Story-line: Paris. The opening scene takes place in a banlieue (in this special context, a suburban area plagued by social problems). Scornful and defiant, a rioter blames the police for the injuries suffered by his homeboy Abdel, yelling ‟It’s easy for you to shoot. We don’t have guns, only rocks.” LA HAINE follows three locals, Vinz, Saïd and Hubert, as they pick up the pieces on the day after the riot.

Pluses: very credible acting by Vincent Cassel (a restless, vindictive Vinz), Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui and a strong cast, breathless direction, a realistic and striking screenplay whose dramatic twists still leave room for a few offbeat moments (Vinz’s rendition of the famous TAXI DRIVER monologue and the old man’s story about Siberia), fine cinematography, production values that provide stimulating samples of youth culture, a varied musical score (reggae, soul, hip hop) and a thought-provoking ending.

Minuses: cops use brutality and racist slurs in their frequent confrontations with local youths. The movie contains scenes of delirious mayhem.

Comments: due to its lifelike depiction of a world where young men from minority groups are left out and constantly belittled by the police, LA HAINE is not a film you can easily dismiss. Violence begets violence in such a way that nothing makes sense anymore; what matters is the faceoff, the affirmation of one’s identity and power. Some youths see a way out of this desperate world – like Hubert who has chosen boxing as an escape route – while others remain stranded and hopeless. Mathieu Kassovitz has crafted a film that withstands the test of time… a turbulent, dangerous and mesmerizing movie whose potency I cannot fully describe. Here’s how Roger Ebert explained it appropriately in 1996 : ‟Hate” is, I suppose, a Generation X film, whatever that means, but more mature and insightful than the American Gen X movies. In America, we cling to the notion that we have choice, and so if our Gen X heroes are alienated from society, it is their choice--it's their "lifestyle." In France, Kassovitz says, it is society that has made the choice. 

 

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Badlands

Also known as: Balade sauvage (la)

Genre: crime drama 

With: Martin Sheen (Kit Carruthers), Sissy Spacek (Holly Sargis). Warren Oates (Daddy Sargis), Ramon Bieri (Cato, Kit’s co-worker), Alan Vint (Tom the Deputy), Gary Littlejohn (Sheriff), John Carter (Scarborough the Rich Man), Bryan Montgomery (Boy), Gail Threlkeld (Girl), Charles Fitzpatrick (Clerk), Howard Ragsdale (Boss), John Womack Jr. (Trooper)

Director: Terrence Malick

Screenplay: Terrence Malick

Release: 1973

Studio: Warner Bros., Pressman-Williams, Jill Jakes Production

Rating: 14A

MBiS score: 8.4/10

  

And if you can't be with the one you love, honey
Love the one you're with* 

 

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Story-line: we find ourselves in 1959 and the setting is Fort Dupree, South Dakota. At 15, Holly Sargis is still somewhat of a child but she knows that life can be cruel, having lost her mother at a very early age and left Texas with her father to start anew up north. One day, a 25-year-old garbageman named Kit sees her twirling a baton in front of her house. They talk, something clicks and her life suddenly seems more promising… but her instincts tell her to keep this a secret. She’s quite sure Daddy Sargis wouldn’t approve of a guy like Kit Carruthers…

Pluses: vivid performances by Sissy Spacek (a lovestruck, trustful Holly) and Martin Sheen (as a foolhardy fellow obsessed with James Dean), good support from Warren Oates and cast, no-frills direction, a strong screenplay built on enigmatic characters, insightful voice-overs and precise dialogues, faultless production values, a diverse musical score and a stunning ending.

Minuses: the screenplay illustrates – but fortunately does not condone – Kit’s glamorous conception of crime.

Comments: the patently dark BADLANDS follows Holly and Kit on the road to adventure as they develop an ambivalent, aimless relationship based on personal needs (which don’t include housework) and a romanticized view of life on the lam. Filmed as a more modest, subdued version of BONNIE AND CLYDE, Terrence Malick’s seminal film remains stunning in its disenchantment and recklessness bordering on nihilism. As I write this review, one question from the dialogues echoes in my mind: ‟Then why'd you do it?” Your answer, movie buffs, will be as good as mine…  

 

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*Love the One You’re With, music and lyrics by Stephen Stills (inspired by Billy Preston).