La Haine
Do you believe in God?That's the wrong question. Does God believe in us?
This is one hell of a film—easily one of the most visually stunning movies I’ve seen. The choice to shoot in black and white was perfect; I don’t think the story would be as compelling without it.
One thing I’ve noticed throughout my Criterion Challenge is how much I’m missing out on this masterpieces in direction. I said the same about Do The Right Thing, but I think even more with La Haine, the directing job by Mathieu Kassovitz is nothing short of perfection. So many genius camera movements and framing that that this is a masterpiece.
The story itself is a genius takedown of the subject matter at hand here. Instead of making this some big “F The Police” movie, it just puts us into the daily life of these three guys who are just all trying their best to help their friend in the ways they see possible, while each going about it in different ways (some more tame than others).
While we follow these kids we get to really understand their motives and why their lives are how they are. How the disadvantage zones are hard to escape in this society and how there are so many forces acting against their dreams. I mostly connected with Hubert after we can see his family life and all he wishes is to pull his family away from having to live paycheck to paycheck.
Performance-wise, the cast is spectacular. All three leads, especially Vincent Cassel, deliver performances that are simultaneously intense, empathetic, reckless, and scrappy.
And the ending… all I’ll say is: wow.Criterion Challenge 2025 - #5