La Haine (Hate)

Mathieu Kassovitz

Discussion Questions• 1. Like many other films we have seen this semester, this film explores

the experiences of young males in Paris. What similarities / differences do you see in the representation of young men between this and earlier films? What similarities /differences do you see in the representation of urban experience?

• 2. This film is known as much for its visual style, editing, and camerawork as for the content and subject of the film. What about the film’s visuals and editing are noteworthy? What is the relationship between the visual composition and the narrative?

• 3. This film, according to many people, captured the zeitgeist of 1990s France and indeed, many people regard the film as prophetic and have reflected on it during later periods of tension and violence (the riots in the Fall of 2005 for example). What can we understand about 1990s France by watching this film?

Settings

“The World is Yours…”• The Banlieue • Paris• Apartments• Derilect Buildings• Train/Cars• The Street• Police Station

Film vs. Media (News/ Documentary)

• Blending of realist, expressionist, documentary styles

• Referencing (in fictionalized mode) real events

• Motif of media/media narrative throughout film

• Presence of film throughout (evidence of influence by film)

Themes

Entrapment / Enclosure

Lack of Mobility• Cite appears as closed

space• Multiple references to

attempted escape (Hubert)

• Cars that don’t run or won’t start

• Missing the Train• Entrepreneurial efforts

blocked/ destroyed

Visual / Stylistic Elements• Claustophobic framing• Self-conscious / stylized

camerawork• Mobility of the camera• Unusual cuts/ inserts• Return to black and

white • Music video aesthetics

Film as Reflecting/ Reflecting Upon (Untold/ Unseen) Reality