Hubert Koundé and Saïd Taghmaoui are nothing short of wonderful, and they really play off each other well.
#La haine 1995 movie#
He really becomes Vinz and conveys enough heart and subtly throughout the movie to really create an identifiable and empathetic character. His range from fun and goofy to totally menacing is so enjoyable to watch because of how natural it felt. Vincent Cassel gives an absolutely brilliant debut performance. At least, in my experience that seems to be the case and that's a real shame because the themes in the movie, and the message in the movie, are timeless. What can you say about about it that hasn't already been said? It's a very well documented and studied movie, but I think it's underseen in the US. If the cop shot Hubert, then there's no hope as the only character with hope got killed). That was Hubert's idea and he reneged on it in the final scene. Hubert is either dead or going to prison (sucks for his family) and Said lost two friends and likely also lost the ability to hope for change to actually come around. The worst part is that all three characters are fucked in the end. Hubert recognizes that Vinz only wants to prove himself, but disagrees with the way he goes about doing it, as evident in the scene with the skinhead.
Even though Hubert suspects Vinz had a hand in burning down the gym during the riots, he tries to help him and reason with him. Hubert spends the whole film arguing with Vinz about Vinz's plan to kill a cop, which Hubert realizes is a futile expression of pent up anger. He probably has enough talent as a boxer, but the only resource he had, the gym, was destroyed by the raw anger of the youth (represented by Vinz). He realizes that a life of crime is not the way to get out of the cité, but selling hash is how he can support his family. I found Hubert's story to be the most gut wrenching. The parallel between the opening scene of Said's face before he tags the gendarmerie's van and the final scene of Said's face as he hear's the gunshot was something I missed the first time.
I just watched it for the second time last night and, while I remembered liking it quite a bit, I was amazed by this film the second time around. I'll preface this by saying that I don't know much about analyzing film, I would just love to read analyses of this film. This is a rare must see film regardless of where your usual cinematic tastes happen to lie.I have seen this film mentioned quite a bit in comments here on TrueFilm, but searched for and could not find a thread for it. From the story that so accurately predicted the future and remains painfully relevant even today the fine acting that brings the three characters to life the stylish and capable cinematography that keeps the images fresh as well as realistic to the youthful energetic direction that ties it all together. La Haine really is a powerful modern masterpiece that does everything it sets out to do perfectly. It's so well crafted that Kassovitz himself admitted he would probably never match it again. This is a film that has a lot to say in every single detail of every scene. There's also a lovely break-dancing scene using jump cuts to switch from one dancer to the next Namely an impressive close quarters aerial helicopter shot through the projects, and a remarkable Vertigo style dolly-zoom on a terrace in the center of Paris. The cinematography is a treat to watch, with some brilliant sequences that look better than should be possible for a low budget film.