I'll have to take down my top films of the 90s as i forgot to add this masterpiece. Having had to study it for film studies in relation to world cinema , i got hands on a copy and watched it again. i have since seen it 3 times and i have yet to be bored by it.
It's set in a struggling estate in the slums of france and we follow the story of said, Vinz & Hubert. Being under heavy control by the local police , many rebelious memebers of the community often riot. After one riot, a friend of Said, Abdel is hospitalised due to an attack by a police officer. After finding a gun, vinz vows to kill a cop if abdel dies, as an act of revenge.
One of my favourite aspects of this film is how we are not forced a main character. Vinz is probably commercially pushed as our protagonist but within the narrative there could be many arguments for each. The story begins and ends on said opening and closing his eyes, do we see it from his view? Hurbet narrates and is the moral conscience of the film, so is he our main man? either way, each character is so rich and deep in diffeent emotional levels it doesn't matter, they are all appealing.
The use of black and white gives it a more raw and real feel and adds to the feeling of pending chaos. Along with the clock titles and soundtrack. Actuality footage of Riots and reports add to this effect. What we also see here is something very interesting, that is a mix of cultures. At its heart its a very french film, but you can see a blending of cultures especially in a scene where N.W.A's "Fuck the police" is mixed with a high cultured french tune, as this song beems out to the estate. Other aspects include american film culture, such as references to Taxi Driver & Raging Bull. It also challenges expectations you may have of a french movie by being a very gritty film, compared to the cafe dwelling, cigar smoking french films we come to expect.
All in all, please see this film if what you want is a well excuted character study, great presentation and well... a damn good film. One of best of world cinema, and one of films of the 90s
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