Beginning and ending a movie with the same quote might seem like a cheesy thing to do. And maybe sometimes it is. But upon watching La Haine this past weekend, I think I saw the most impressive and captivating case of doing this—ever. Because the repetition of this particular sentiment wasn’t just reinforcing a piece of the movie’s thematic insight, but introducing a brand new wrinkle to the idea, forcing us, the viewer, to reconsider everything we’ve just watched.
I hadn’t seen the movie in over 15 years, and had completely forgotten about this line from Hubert, which is heard as the movie starts, and then is partially repeated at the end of the movie:
“Heard about the guy who fell off a skyscraper? On his way down past each floor, he kept saying to reassure himself: ‘So far so good… so far so good… so far so good.’ How you fall doesn’t matter. It’s how you land!”
When Hubert first said this, I found it fascinating. It’s a great (and very French) introduction to not just the story, but the characters and the world they inhabit. It’s very much a reflection of our real world and the “freefall” it feels our society is in. The same problems we deal with today—growing tensions between the police and marginalized factions of society, and how it all leads to violence, economic hardship, and social alienation—were being dealt with back in 1995, and dealt with for decades previous. We fall, and we fall, and we fall. Until there’s an impact. Because there has to be an impact—you can’t fall forever.
Seemingly, the entire movie is about Vinz’s freefall. He watches what’s happening to his friends around him. He despises the police, which uses its power to subjugate and control. He clings to his gun, believing it gives him power in a world that has rendered him powerless. The anger and frustration driving this behavior is challenged by Hubert, who is introspective; who is aware of the downward trajectory that not just Vinz, but the rest of the projects is on if it doesn’t actively try to change its course. As the ground gets closer and closer for Vinz, Hubert acts as the voice of reason, encouraging Vinz to never look down, and to instead focus on the present, to acknowledge the inevitable freefall that will forever plague us as a society, because the second we give into the fight, we give up—we hit the ground, and everything is over.
And just when we think Vinz has made the turn, a jerk cop’s gun accidentally goes off and takes his life. And now, suddenly, the gun is in Hubert’s hand. On the one hand, it forces us to question Vinz’s entire journey: what if he had just shot a cop earlier in the movie? Would that have been a more impactful ending to his story? But it also forces Hubert to make a decision. Does he turn his back on everything he said to Vinz throughout the movie? It’s all words until it’s time for action. What will we do when push comes to shove?
It’s an incredible moment of insight that directly addresses the viewer. We can stand on the sidelines throughout our life, observing the subjugation and mistreatment, either endlessly philosophizing about a solution or forever ignoring our ugly reality, but at some point we may be forced to act upon what we say we believe, or perhaps act upon what we haven’t forced ourselves to acknowledge, and this decision will not only completely alter the course of our individual lives but will radiate throughout the rest of society and shift the pendulum in one direction or the either. It’s easy to think this decision won’t have much of an impact at all on society, because it’s just one of millions of insignificant decisions that are made each day. But La Haine shows the impact people can have on the ground, the existential trauma a single death can create, how the fight for justice and freedom requires constant tiny steps that slowly and gradually bring about necessary change. As Hubert stands there with his gun pointed at the cop, we are forced to recognize the weight of such a decision, to know that it shouldn’t be taken lightly, to understand that all the dialogue in the world means nothing until we take action.
So, let’s have it: what would you do?
