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Haine (La) AKA Hate
R2 - United Kingdom - Optimum Releasing Review written by and copyright: Noor Razzak (6th December 2006). |
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The Film
 "La Haine" premiered at the 1995 Cannes Film Festival where it was enamoured with press surrounding the film's controversial themes and content. The film maker's had hit a nerve with the public and also with officials considering the way Police are portrayed in the film. An "Anti-Police" sentiment grew, but it's important to remember that "La Haine" is not an against the police, but rather a commentary on racism, social classes and the tensions that result from a general lack of respect, a product of it's time when France was facing it's own racial tensions with riots breaking out as a result of Police brutality. The film's themes not only echo that turbulent social period in French history but it seems that things do come full circle as the 2005 riots demonstrated (after the ill treatment of several boys under arrest, they were subjected to electrocution which ignited pre-existing tensions in the poor housing estate areas of Paris), asserting the film's relevance ten years after it was made. "La Haine" covers a 24 hour period in the lives of three youths, Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui and Hubert (Hubert Koundé) after a violent riot in the housing estate. A friend of theirs Abdel is injured in the riot and is hospitalised, if he dies Vinz swears he'll use a gun found during the riots (a gun that was lost by a Policeman) and kill a cop as revenge, during the course of the day things heat up culminating in a shocking and ambiguous end. The film presents the issue of societal problems in France with a youthful and tense demeanor, we are strung along by these three hate filled youths as they spend their day doing nothing, smoking drugs, meeting people and loitering. They encounter harassment from the Police and constantly fight with each other, the gun which Vinz finds being the basis for the in-fighting. The three actors present each character in a naturalistic way, their skills are so refined for such young (and at the time inexperienced) performers that their dialogue hardly feels scripted at all. Living in the locations where the film was shot clearly helped. Kassovitz uses his film to focus attention on the racism that runs beneath the seams of his country and plays on that concept layering each scene with a tense and uneasy complexity, this keeps the viewer guessing and continually on edge, never knowing when something bad will inevitably occur. Kassovitz has crafted a modern urban thriller that shares similarities with Spike Lee's 1989 film "Do The Right Thing" but "La Haine" is just as important in its own right. "La Haine" is a masterful piece of work from a then emerging film making talent and marks one of the most explosive debuts in the areas of direction, cinematography and acting that France has seen in a long time.
Video
Presented in the film's original theatrical ratio of 1.85:1, this anamorphic widescreen transfer is excellent. The image is sharp and shows detail very well, I couldn't spot any grain throughout the print, in fact I couldn't spot any dirt or flaws with the print. Contrast between black and white is nicely balanced, with gray levels looking good. Overall I'm impressed with this release and have no problem recommending it based on its image quality.
Audio
Two audio tracks are included a French Dolby Digital 5.1 track as well as a French Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo track. For the purposes of this film I chose to view it with its 5.1 track. For a film that's mostly dialogue I was impressed with the overall ambiance of the track. While the dialogue is clear and distortion free the environmental surrounds made one feel like they were right in the middle of the housing estate with our characters, subtle and well mixed directional sounds such as children in the background, sirens and street noise all make an appearance without overbearing any of the main action and remain firmly in the background. I wasn't expecting much with this track and the overall immersivness of it took me by surprise. This film includes English non-removable subtitles, the subtitles were easy to read without any spelling or grammatical errors.
Extras
Optimum have released this film as a 3-disc Ultimate Edition, the contents include an audio commentary, three featurettes, a documentary, some trailers, the film's original soundtrack CD plus a booklet. Below is a closer look at these supplements broken down per disc. DISC ONE: First up is a feature-length audio commentary by the film's director/writer/co-editor/actor Mathieu Kassovitz. This track is recorded in English, Kassovitz comments on the film's themes which are universal and he believes was one of the reasons the film had done so well overseas and many people could relate to it. He also comments on the black and white photography which gives the film a timeless quality as well as shares his thoughts on how difficult it was to make a film with such dark themes in black and white. This certainly posed a challenge to the marketing of the film, he comments on the influences for the film and his dissatisfaction with the people running his country and the riots that ensued as a result of such dissatisfaction that was shared by many other people as well, fundamentally he pinpointed the Police's lack of respect towards the general public as a main issues and was the guiding theme throughout the film. He tells stories of police brutality and as well as political issues he also provides a decent amount of background on the making of the film revealing stories from the set. Overall it's a very insightful track that informs the viewer on the social situations in France and the impact this film had as a commentary on that situation. Next up is "Behind the Scenes 1" a featurette which runs for 6 minutes 40 seconds, this clip is in French with non-removable English subtitles and is a combination of fly-on-the-wall behind-the-scenes footage and also interview footage of the director and the lead cast members as we get a look at the cast and crew shooting the scene where Vinz fantasises about shooting a cop which send him through a window. Following that is "Behind the Scenes 2" another featurette which runs for 5 minutes 50 seconds and is much in the same style as the previous clip but this time it's of the director and his three leads a week before shooting hanging out in the small flat they stayed in during the production, they talk about the scenes, what they hope to achieve but also are seen going a little crazy from the cramped space. "Scenes in Colour" is next and is a featurette which runs for 6 minutes 13 seconds and shows some of the footage from the film in colour. The film was shot in colour and then printed to black and white, for the first time ever we get to see some of the dailies in colour, these scenes are rough and also include shots that did not appear in the final film. A collection of 2 theatrical trailers is next, the first runs for 27 seconds while the second runs for 37 seconds. Rounding out the extras on this first disc are a collection of bonus trailers, they include: - "Amores Perros" which runs for 2 minutes 9 seconds. - "Since Otar Left" which runs for 1 minute 49 seconds. - "Memories Of Murder" which runs for 2 minutes 36 seconds. - "A Thousand Months" which runs for 1 minute 49 seconds. DISC TWO: The only extra on this disc is "La Haine: 10th Anniversary" a feature-length documentary that runs for 83 minutes 29 seconds. This feature is in French with non-removable English subtitles. The doco takes a look at the influences behind the film that revolve around the real life incident of a youth accidentally shot by police in Paris which caused riots. The filmmakers talk about the screenwriting process, as the cast comment on their involvement. They discuss tackling social issues in cinema, how to create tension and the overall genesis of the script to screen and beyond. It's interesting to hear the filmmakers talk about the impact of the film, the shooting process which took the cast and crew to actual housing estates which allowed for the cast to deliver credible performances having spent the time and also living in the flats while shooting. Achieving a sense of realism was key to the film's tone, additionally the feature also looks at some of the standout shots from the film as well as the editing style. Furthermore the doco also takes a closer look at the lead up to the Cannes Film Festival and the controversy the film caused, the reaction to the film and the post-Cannes reaction. This documentary is made of a series of candid interviews cut with footage from the film as well as news media footage and provides an in-depth insight into the making of the film and the various challenges that the filmmakers encountered, it's certainly worth a look. DISC THREE: The third disc in this set is the film's original soundtrack CD and includes the following track listing: 1. Burnin' and Lootin' 2. Funk Funk 3. Outstanding 4. The Beat Goes On 5. That Loving Feeling 6. More Bounce To The Ounce 7. Mon Esprit Part En C... 8. La Peur Du Metissage 9. J' Attends 10. Putain De Planete 11. Arrivee Et Salut A l'Assistance 12. Je Ne Vois Que Moi 13. Discussion 14. Say It / Over And Over Again 15. Songe 16. Bicyclette Rounding out the extras is a 16-page booklet, featuring an essay by Keith Reader, and cast and crew biographical notes plus Mathieu Kassovitz's blog entries on The 2005 Paris Riots (with response by French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy)
Overall
This 3-disc Ultimate Edition set is packaged in a steelbook case and is individually numbered out of 10,000
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