La Haine - A poignant piece from the past
La Haine, a movie that is currently being shown throughout Amsterdam, was first released in 1995 but still has the same relevance then as it does today.
The translation of the title is "Hatred". The hatred depicted in this movie comes in many forms. Taking place during a particularly charged time in France, where riots were exceptionally violent, the movie centers around three characters from the banlieues (slums) as they navigate a world rife with racial, socio-economic and political tension. The characters are from different ethnic backgrounds, one black, one arabic and another jewish but all feel a mutual sense of hatred for a world they are forced to be at the margins of. The characters are constantly oppressed by the poverty that sticks to them almost as much as the cops who wait behind every street corner ready to give them trouble. With poignant lines like "'most cops are here to protect us' / 'then who's here to protect us from the cops?'" and "the only good skinhead is a dead skinhead", the movie openly invites you to criticize the world around you. Followed by scenes where cops are showcasing the latest recruit how to get away with police brutality behind closed doors. This movie makes you wonder why the state has given permission to bloodthirsty ghouls to monopize violence and why the state cracks down on those living under the ivory towers of metropolitan mansions. There are scenes that make you laugh, that pull at your heart strings and scenes that get your blood boiling. An existence dictated by poverty will often do that. As those who wish to see the system change, to live in a world where equality is not just part of a national slogan but an everyday occurence, where cops don't exist and can't treat the poor like punching bags, where solidarity isn't a double edged sword that can swing back at you the moment someone gets in trouble or needs money, bref, in a better world. I have only scratched the surface of the themes tackled in this movie, any anarchist will undoubtedly have hours worth of subjects to talk about after watching it. Mixing in a technically diverse and brilliant camera work, great acting and cutthraot editing, I can't recommend this movie enough.
For those who don't speak French and are inclined to watch this movie there are some things that might be missed but showcase how relevant this movie is for French people today. At the beginning, the rioters in the news are called "les casseurs" which translates to "the people who break things" and is a derogatory term meant to differentiate those who "peacefully advocate for change" and those who "opportunistically use protests to loot and break things", this is a false dichotomy that still persists in the French news today as can be seen during the riots of the Gilets Jaunes (the yellow jackets). The skinheads are also mocked as "Le Pen" voters. They are ferreing to Jean Marie Le Pen, the father of the current leader of the alt right party of France. Marine Le Pen actually kicked out her father from the party for being too anti-semitic!
Anyways, enjoy the movie!