La Haine

La Haine (hate)

I have been thinking a lot about the movies this past year that have really impacted me. About eight years ago I used to email out a top ten list of movies you, "had to see," and it was a fun thing to do. I feel that over these eight years my tastes have changed, my awareness of the world has increased, and I'm affected by deeper, more meaningful things. So, over the next few posts, I want to give you five movies that truly impacted me this year. These movies range from strong stances against violence to the true nature of justice.

The first of these films is La Haine (Hate).

Abdel, a hoodlum of the french ghetto, is victim of police brutality in 1995. Upon news coverage of this, a riot ensues outside of the police station leaving many injured, many arrested, and a cop's missing gun found by Abdel's friend Vinz. Vinz vowes that if Abdel dies, he will kill the responsible cop.

Most of the film follow Vinz (a jew) and the distanting of his friends Said (an arab), and Hubert (a black boxer). Vinz's possession of the gun creates a sense of power, control, and a false sense of respect. After Abdel dies, Vinz seeks to kill any cop. While en route to the police station, Vinz's friends get pushed around by some skinheads and Vinz breaks up the fight at gunpoint, takes the skinhead leader in a warehouse ready to kill him. Allowing the last bit of morality to take over, he lets the skinhead go, realizes the gun is poison, and gives it up to his friend. As they head home, the hoodlums from the previous fight hold Vinz up at gunpoint, where the gunman taunts and humiliates him, and accidently fires the gun, killing Vinz.

I have always been afraid to own a gun. I feel living one's life with a gun as one's arsenal can eventually end one's life. This movie captured that feeling better than any other I've seen. It also captured the non-stop cycle of hate. We have all hurt someone and we have all been hurt, but how we choose to react defines us. We can repay hate with hate, or we can repay hate with good. I believe the film asks, "How will we repay?