"Liberty. Equality. Fraternity." Is this the France that everyone experiences? The characters in La Haine make a good case for the idea that this three word ideal is rarely reached. They are free, but aren't allowed to upset the system. They are equal, but only in law and not in practice. They are fraternal, but only in a tribal way as other groups treat them terribly. La Haine is a scathing look at the system and its fallout in a way mainstream cinema rarely discusses. It's an explosive dissection of oppression and violence, and relevant to any time or place (within France or otherwise) where a young, urban underclass has formed. It's difficult to not see some minor parallels to my own home (a poor estate in a British city) but I imagine the reality of La Haine rings true for many.

Class plays a huge part in society, whether people want to pretend it does or not. La Haine is about class consciousness in some way, because it's about the poorest amongst us feeling crushed by the system. The lead characters are poor and uneducated, other characters are homeless; poverty can be felt looming over the film. These people still deserve dignity and respect (there's an anecdote about a man freezing to death after shitting; the ultimate loss of worth) but they aren't afforded such a luxury by those who look down upon them, such as the news-reporter convinced some characters are rioters just by their appearance. Our media has enabled such class divisions to extend (look at how the word "chav" is used in Britain) and, in the context of La Haine, we see how that manifests in the snobbery of the well off towards the impoverished. The police are polite in the rich areas and yet we see children having to walk past police carrying guns in the poorer areas. The youth are disillusioned and without hope. They may want to get out of their situation but it's difficult, probably too difficult. The young are the future of mankind, the next generation, but they are angry and that anger has to go somewhere. The system has let them down and people refuse to help change things, so violence becomes more and more appealing. Their conflict is between whether to fight or to give in to the system. La Haine is set the day after protests and riots, where people have wrecked their own stuff and harmed their own community. It may seem counterproductive but, to them, burning the world is the only way to get attention and then hopefully improve things. Yet the middle class will only see the burning and not seek the improvement, indifferent centrists will claim to not be racist or classist and then end up voting for those who are. There's a sign in La Haine which reads "The World is Yours", a meaningless message to those who feel like they have nothing. It's a bland platitude to make those who aren't at the bottom feel better about themselves. When these more privileged people are pushed, they don't actually believe in this message, they want the poor to stay hidden and oppressed (as emphasised in an ironic way at one point in the film). A better version may be "The World is Ours", we're meant to be a community of people looking out for one another and if we don't, the poor will eventually rise up and have their day. La Haine also breaks down class through art. We see elitism at an art gallery in one scene, but this is also a film filled with high art mixed in with youth culture. Every scene is dripping with arthouse techniques and ideas, but also infused with rap culture, pop culture, and working class culture. It's a fusion of high art and low art, but they're exactly the same fucking thing: art. Class knows no bounds in our society and it infects art, politics, and opportunity. La Haine is in the dead centre, looking around and showing it all.

Hate spreads hate, and the characters in La Haine hate all the time, it's as if they can't stop. Part of the reason for their hate is police brutality and the seemingly unrestricted authority of the police. There's a claim that most cops are good, and there certainly exists at least one good cop in the film, but the lead characters don't experience kindness from the majority of police officers they encounter. Most of the time, it appears that both the cops and the lead characters are at odds and looking for a fight. The police are shown to be racist in La Haine (there's even a Rodney King reference) and there's a particularly disgusting scene where the cops interrogate two non-white characters in a brutally racist manner. The character of Vinz goes on a dreamlike journey, often staring wide-eyed into the camera, in his quest to kill a cop. He must learn to not give into hate and not continue violence. Vinz even dreams of dancing during the riots but he isn't fighting for the issues, or fighting for the wronged people, he's fighting for himself (to gain respect and be feared). A gun is what gives Vinz power, but it's the police that have most of the guns and hence almost a monopoly on power. He may not be fighting against the system but Vinz is certainly fighting from outside it. What keeps him sane are his friendships, which remain strong throughout the film. To his friends, Vinz may be the one holding them back, but he isn't the cause of their problems. They're all having to run through tunnels (streets and hallways) in their war with the police, regardless of Vinz's stupid actions. Even closing your eyes can't help you avoid the pain. The pain is always there because this world keeps falling. As long as we fight, we're all condemned. But it's not how we fall, it's how we land. So far so good, but who knows which moment will change everything? La Haine is a film of imaginary gunshots, until it all becomes very real for the characters. All is going well until something happens, a microcosm of France's descent into hostility. This is a society falling, a clock ticking. All leading to the ending (that ending - holy shit, holy shit). They say it's not about how we fall, it's about how we land. Well, in La Haine, there is no landing, just one long fall and then a splatter.

La Haine is stylised social realism, a film of grit and truth but also one made with flair. The world is colourless, told in black and white as if to make day and night interchangeable. The film may take place over one day but this is a world people live in for decades. There's so many inventive, imaginative shots and the camera circles, moving and flowing through people and the urban landscape. The opening contains real life footage, emphasising the reality of La Haine. The music played over it is one of protest and music plays a key part in expressing the characters and their protests. One fantastical moment has music flow across the sky, looking down at all and spreading its message: fuck the police. It's a cry people get behind. This is a film of harsh truth, but there's artistic intent in all its shots. It wants to be more than just the truth, and stylishly succeeds.

La Haine is a fantastic movie. It's a powerful indictment of the tiered society we've created, and damning in its critique of all sides. The fact that the main characters in La Haine would now be in their 40s and we still haven't fixed the problems shown just shows how bad the system is. Festering inequality and a gangrenous, decaying society has led to this underclass and violence. La Haine is brutal and bone-shattering, honest and harsh, and the sort of cinema we need more of. Fight the power, and if you can, do it with this much style and purpose.

My Top Films of the 1990s