Rating: 4/5
Criterion Challenge 2022 | 15/52 | Director whose work I haven’t seen before
A riot breaks out as people attack a police station in the Muguet projects — 33 arrests, 13 officers injured, untold civilian injuries. The riot is in response to rampant police violence in the neighborhood. In particular, police had Abdel Ichaha in their custody and beat him to critical condition.
Saïd leaves some graffiti on a police vehicle — “fuck the police.” He goes to Vinz’s and wakes him up. In the bathroom, Vinz does a Travis Bickle routine.
They go to Hubert’s boxing gym only to find it destroyed by the riots. Still, Hubert is hitting the bag.
Vinz recalls the events from the riot, and about Abdel’s condition. Saïd doesn’t see the point — Hubert ignores the exchange and handles a small drug deal.
The film follows the group as they deal with constant attention from the police. After the group tries to visit Abdel in the hospital, things continue to escalate to a point of no return.
The film takes place in the banlieues, made up predominantly of residents from former French African colonies. These communities are functional apartheids, reflecting France’s entrenched racist history.
Our protagonists are all from immigrant families. They represent the invisible majority — the kids born and raised in France but treated like outsiders. Their communities are the ones that experience the most recurrent police brutality.
The riot footage is real, assembled from riots starting in the mid-80s up to the movie. Even during filming, riots continued in the banlieue where they filmed. Director Mathieu Kassovitz attended several of them and started writing the movie after the police murdered Makomé M’Bowolé while he was in police custody.
The stylistic camera work and subjective asides are reminiscent of Do the Right Thing, while the black-and-white photography evokes social realist films. There are more than a few shots that had me thinking “woah.” The lighting is staggering in the close-ups.
The dialogue effortlessly integrates several positions on the police, violence, and personal responsibility. Is it wrong to riot against injustice? Is it fair to be afraid for your life or your family’s? How do you change your world — fight or escape?
Though Vincent Cassel acted in some roles before this, this movie was his breakthrough performance that earned him attention.
Hubert Koundé doesn’t get as much attention — he’s still best known for this movie — but his performance was the most grounded and kept me invested.
Saïd Taghmaoui has been in several things — I vaguely remember him in Lost. He’s great here!
Vincent London is pretty funny in his small scene as “a very drunk man.”
Mathieu Kassovitz showcases some incredible filmmaking — as writer, director, and editor, he assembled a film that feels personal and political without sacrificing one for the other.