Then, there is the retaliation by Hubert, revolver in hand. There’s the dark moment where the policeman kills Vinz. There’s the fight with the skinheads in the street, where Hubert and Said are beaten by maniacs. There’s the less than gentle hassles with the police as well as the torture in the police offices. La Haine has its moments of physical violence. Sometimes, shootouts should be left to the Wild West
Vinz, Hubert, and Said lead the viewer through the ups and downs of what seem to be a relatively normal day in the projects. Yet, it’s three ordinary boys living the slums near Paris who take the stage in the film. This could be an investigative journalist’s moment to expose the lies about the despair of the mostly displaced refugee communities outside of the city, Spotlight style, with all the glam and glitz of All the President’s Men. This could be a procedural about the French police force’s endless crusade against crime in the suburbs around Paris. One of the more striking aspects of the “hood” or banlieue film, La Haine (literally, “the hate” ), is the choice of protagonists.
Innocence and Violence in the Slums of La Haine
