La Haine

Yesterday, I was busy working on both my film and book-making project proposals when I suddenly remembered the film Submission, part 1 by Theo Van Gogh. Theo was the great-nephew of Vincent Van Gogh, but was more famous for his vicious murder in Amsterdam a few years ago due to his involvement with Submission.

Anyway, this made me think of other films I watched in the UK, which made me remember the French film La Haine. French for "The Hate," La Haine is one of those brutal films that makes you cringe, think, and get all emotional at the same time. For some reason, I think about this film over a year after I saw it, which is fairly remarkable considering all the foreign/indie films I watched in just that one class.

The story follows three disaffected youth growing up in the ghettos of France. The story follows their brushes with the law, Parisian art snobs, and life in general. The film's most notable for predicting the race riots that would tear through France only a short time after the film aired, for nearly identical reasons to the riots shown in the film. It was directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, who's most recognized for playing the boyfriend of Amelie, another great French movie.

Sadly, La Haine has been unavailable in the US for over 10 years now. However, I discovered last night that it'll be available on the Criterion Collection DVD set in April. I know it's a ways off, but keep it in mind for a few months from now.