Minding society's neglected business

La Haine (Hate)
Directed by Mathieu Kassovitz
Reviewed by Vannessa Hearman "I hate people who only mind their own business", says 25-year-old director Mathieu Kassovitz. His La Haine won the 1995 Best Young European Film of the Year Award for its portrayal of life on France's cites or housing estates, as seen through the eyes of three migrant youth. The housing estate on which they live is rocked by street clashes between police and youths, as their friend Abdel lies unconscious in hospital after a savage beating by police officers. Kassovitz captures a day in the life of three boys, Said, Hubert and Vinz, as they struggle with feelings of hopelessness and hatred for a system which provides no prospects for them. The estate is full of tension after a night of looting and violence. A police revolver is reported missing after the night's events, and Vinz has sworn to shoot a police officer if Abdel dies. It is a waiting game that we share with them. Kassovitz says,"La Haine is against cops and I wanted people to see it that way". It is filmed 35 km from Paris on a "typical" housing estate, where there is usually nothing to do and boredom runs rife. A day on the estates is one of hanging out and looking for cheap thrills, smoking dope and doing small drug deals to survive. Graffiti ironically points out, "We're the future". Hubert desperately wants to leave, but no-one takes him seriously, not even his mother. He sets up a gym for the youth at the cite, but the fruits of his hard work fall victim to the night of rioting. The film questions a society that does not care for its young, that allows them to waste away. Society is likened to a person falling from a skyscraper who says, "So far so good". It also ponders a system which chooses to combat social malaise with state violence. La Haine is not just a bleak "anti-cop" film. "You've got to include certain factors that give life to the characters, so they laugh about their own experiences", says Kassovitz. This is certainly a strong part of the film, and Kassovitz has allowed the three young actors plenty of room to develop their characters. They have appropriated the tough talk of the cite, giving the film a disturbingly realistic feel. Hubert Kounde, who plays a character of the same name in the film says,"We tried to take apart the process of hate in the suburban ghettos, to put it on film ... Pictures like La Haine are necessary, really necessary." Mathieu Kassovitz's accomplished work, with its strong social implications, deserves to be seen widely.