La Haine

1995 drama

Rating: 16/20

Plot: Following a riot and the shooting of a friend, three guys have a wild 24 hours.

There's a floating shot during a sequence where a D.J. scratches this "Fuck the Police" song that reminded me of something in Soy Cuba, one of those beautiful and impossible shots that I would have assumed was accomplished with the aid of a drone if this wasn't a movie from the mid-90's.

This is a tough movie to watch because you assume from the beginning that things won't end well for at least one and maybe every single one of these characters. And they're not kids, but they're kids, and that makes the unfolding, kind of aimless storyline a tough one. If it wasn't peppered with so many comedic moments, it would have been too heavy, too angry, or too whiny. Instead, it's got a scene with the old guy talking about how there's nothing like a good shit one moment and his friend freezing to death in the next. And it's got these little moments of everyday magic, cows and breakdancing as magical realism. And it's got a guy whose wife has left him dancing on top of a cop car.

For a film following a trio of doomed characters around, this has a vibrancy or energy that really makes it appealing. It balances tones so well. The characterization goes just deep enough, the trio becoming a little more than just caricatures and evolving into three guys you care about and root for even when they're making really dumb or dangerous decisions.