Yeah I know all about thatReleased in 1995, director Mathieu Kassovitz's La haine (Hate) is a portrait of life in the banlieues, the ghettos heavily populated by North African immigrants that ring France's major cities. The film, shot in razor sharp black and white, strongly parallels the work of Spike Lee (Do the Right Thing) and Tony Kaye (American History X), both in substance and in style.
The film's principal concern is with the conflict between its disenfranchised protagonists - Vinz, a Jew, Said, an Arab, and Hubert, an African - and the police. An acquaintance of the three - it's never clear how close they actually are - has been savagely beaten by police and is hospitalized in critical condition, sparking off a destructive series of nightly riots. The banlieue itself is a moonscape, filled with remnants of Brutalist architecture, burning automobiles, and storefront windows bereft of glass.
Mr. Kassovitz's personal sympathies are clear - the police, either bedecked in militaristic riot gear or sinister plainclothes (complete with armbands) operate like a gang unto themselves, seemingly concerned only with enforcing and maintaining their empty authority. They are the manifestation of an uncaring state, perplexed by the problems presented by the ghetto-ized, underemployed "un-French" Other, and seemingly unconcerned with persuing any other solution than tramping the dirt farther down. Where Mr. Kassovitz differs from most cinematic polemicists however is in his unromanticized treatment of his banlieue denizens. His characters are anti-social petty criminals, unyieldingly recalcitrant in their dealings with authority even when authority acts with good reason and in a reasonable fashion. Kassovitz understands the potentcy of the truth, and equipped with this knowledge he has no need for martyrs. The system is failing these youths and this failure manifests itself not only in their environment but extends to their psyches as well.
La haine has gained greater currency in recent years due to the series of intense riots that rocked the banlieues and captured international attention in the fall of 2005. Americans took particular note; since 9/11 we have developed a keen interest in Europe's struggle to accomodate (or not, as the case may be) its growing Muslim population. In many quarters here, the riots were taken as further evidence of the fundamental incompatibility of Muslim values and those of the west. Interestingly, Mr. Kassovitz's film does not address religion; what is at issue in La haine is a lack of opportunity and furthermore a lack of acceptance. In America we are accustomed to the idea that immigrants arrive in waves, initially concentrating in ethnic enclaves, relying on one another to succeed economically, and gradually obtaining imperfect acceptance as Americans. In France, where economic opportunity is not as abundant (due, in large part to highly restrictive labor laws) and where French identity is not necessarily conferred based upon acceptance of a set of shared ideals, the post-colonial wave of immigrants does not appear to have made it past the beach.
Mr. Kassovitz, commenting on the 2005 riots for his blog, sharply criticized Nicolas Sarkozy, then Minister of the Interior, for his infamous comments dismissing the rioters as "scum" who should be washed out of the banlieues "with a fire hose." Interestingly Mr. Sarkozy responded via letter, and the resulting dialogue can be accessed here. In May of this year, Sarkozy, head of the conservative UMP party, defeated Socialist candidate Segolene Royal to succeed Jacques Chirac as president of France.
