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| DIRECTED BY |
| Mathieu Kassovitz
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| STARRING |
| Vincent Cassel |
| Sa�d Taghmaoui |
| Hubert Kound� |
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Warning: Spoiler in Final Paragraph
Without the character of Hubert, this film would essentially be a failure � Vinz and Said are products of the same downtrodden French �projects� as Hubert, but they�re also two generally thickheaded pugilists who haven�t the intelligence to realize how futile their offensiveness is. Hubert, on the other hand, represents the film�s most powerful theme � that even if one tries to disassociate from the brutality of this society, they�ll ultimately end up failing simply by living in it.
Kassovitz just goes too far with the bizarre symbolism, however � the whole cow thing is obviously trying to say something about Vinz�s desire to lead a simpler life or his gradual ignorance of reality, but it should�ve been handled more realistically for a film of this nature, such as through a poster or a television (in keeping with another theme of the film.) It may also appear as if Kassovitz is throwing in humorous non sequiturs in his dialogue for no good reason, but most of it actually has meaning, even the argument over cartoons. This represents the Americanization of the French youth who�re simply fed up with Paris and have retreated into Western pop culture. Even the old man�s speech makes sense when contemplated, basically telling us how quickly an important friend may slip away from you.
Some elements could�ve been executed better � Vinz�s obsession with pop culture could�ve been documented a little better, although the dialogue hints are well done nonetheless. Hubert�s unwillingness to participate in his friends� criminal antics could�ve also been done more convincingly � his paroxysm at the upper-class party seems to be a complete break in character. Perhaps we also should�ve been given some better insight into the �big city peacefulness� that is actually so close-yet-so far away from these guys. The b&w cinematography is nonetheless excellent and there are some truly memorable scenes, my favorite one coming early when Said has an argument with two people from their high-rise windows.
I could�ve done without the �Reservoir Dogs�-like final shot, but what ultimately happened seems appropriate � a tragedy that some people never can quite catch up to that train leading out of society�s asshole because they let their pants fall down one too many times.
