La Haine

Slide One: What Is 'La Haine'

La Haine is French film directed by Mathieu Kassovitz. It revolves around the lives of three teenagers who although are ethnically different, come from the banlieues of Paris. This film takes place after a set of riots that have left their friend in critical condition. Although the main themes of this film are poverty and violence; it also takes a look at the relationship the youth of Paris have with the police. As stated in many articles it’s known that Kassovitz looks up to American Directors such as Martin Scorsese and has been referred to as the French ‘Spike Lee’. However when looking at ‘La Haine’ one must wonder whether American cinema has outweighed French Cinema in it’s influence of the films message and structure.

Slide Two: American Influence

 One of the most notable scenes in ‘La Haine’ is when the character ‘Vinz’ is looking into the mirror and begins to imitate Robert De Niro’s character from the well known film ’Taxi Driver’ directed by American director Martin Scorsese. While watching the film it is clear that Vinz’s ambition to kill a cop stems from what the audience believes is his violent nature, however Vinz’s lust for violence and lack of self control could be argued to be Kassovitz’s reference to another Scorsese film ‘Mean Streets’ De Niro’s violent nature and impulsiveness in that film strikes eerily similar to the character of Vinz. The idea that Vinz’s character is a reference to two well known American films shows just how influenced Kassovitz was by American cinema while making La Haine.

Slide Three: French Influence

Although it is evident that there is a bit of an American Influence in La Haine. It is clear to see that it is more French influenced than anything else. La Haine is based on true events and in a time of heightened racism; the director’s aim was to bring focus to issues between young people who come from poor areas and the police. This is evident in the scene where Hubert and Said where being beaten up by the police; this idea that people who are meant to protect the youth are doing the exact opposite.

Slide Four: French Influence (Cont'd)

The film was a success in International cinema; gaining popularity in Europe and parts of North America. Although it was fairly popular amongst the western audience; it was still deemed to ‘French’ according to it’s American Audience. One way of identifying this is through the fact that the title of the movie remained written in French whereas a lot of other French films would have their titles translated to English to appeal to that audience. Not only did ‘La Haine’ have an impact in the cinema, it also added fuel to the fire of violence between the police and the youth of Paris. As Oliver Poulter states in his review of ‘La Haine’; Vincent Cassel (Vinz) mentioned that a mere 500 people turned up to demonstrate in the streets when a youth was shot by a police officer but over 2 million people watched La Haine.

Slide Five: French Influence (Cont'd)

One thing I noticed while watching La Haine is that irony is predominant in the storyline, How the three characters can go from being chased by the police to telling jokes a few scenes later, is probably part of the humour. However one scene that stood out to me was when the three main characters where stood in the middle of a busy looking Paris. In a time where the French government wanted it’s citizens to feel proud of being French, Kassovitz uses this one scene to highlight how the people living in the poorer parts of such a beautiful city feel alienated. This could be argued to be one of the reasons for the riots that took place after the films release.

Slide Six: Conclusion

As it is clear to see Kassovitz has had a lot of inspiration during the making of ‘La Haine’, however it is also clear to see that the film is more French Influenced then any other, from things such as the title of the film being in French to the type of subtitles used when being translated. The film has key references to American cinema however they do not deter the audience away from how French ‘La Haine’ really is.