Every once in a while, as artists, we get into slumps and look for some good “food” to digest and turn into inspiration. At times, we come across pieces of art that are truly masterclasses for their own respective mediums. If you’re looking for good eats in the art world, we’ve got something for you.
I present to you the French cult classic “La Haine” (French for hate) by director Mathieu Kassovitz. This poignant piece gained its notoriety for exploring police brutality and racial injustice within the suburban slums of France. Here’s a breakdown of how “La Haine” completely leans all the way into the medium of film and takes advantage of it to tell a riveting story:
The plot
Kassovitz sets up the story with three friends, one of Middle Eastern descent, one of African descent and one of Jewish descent, which are three majorly marginalized groups in France. These three characters are perfect vehicles to drive the story as we follow them through the streets of the “cité” where they live. Kassovitz wrote “La Haine” as an exposé on what shape the anger between the police and the less fortunate was taking at the time. Through the eyes of these troubled youths, we see police brutality, blatant racism and how hate breeds more hate. The writing is an evergreen, shining light on issues and current events that take place all over the world, including, but not limited to, riots in response to unjust enforcement of the law.
Visual storytelling
The film is edited in black and white, which is not only a stylistic choice, but can also be interpreted as a metaphor for the subject of the movie. The lack of color adds to the coldness of the city and isolates the topic via stripping away colors that would normally pop out. The cinematography is where this movie really finds its strengths. The plot alone is smart, but the visual storytelling to couple it is what makes this piece a genius work of art. The use of Dutch angles, slow motion, dolly zooms, dolly forwards and camera pans create a sense of tension as the film builds up to its climax. One shot in particular has one of the main characters in the foreground watching gun violence happen in the background. The set up for this shot is both clever as it is intuitive for expressing as much information and emotion in a single shot as possible. “La Haine” is a masterclass in cinematography, shot organization and composition. I strongly recommend studying the camera work in this piece if you’re interested in film.
Where to see it
The main sites you can find this film on are Amazon Prime and on print via The Criterion Collection. This is definitely a certified buy for any film enthusiast’s DVD or Blu-ray library.
The best way to truly get a good artistic meal out of something is to try it.
