La Haine (1995)

I was about a quarter of the way through this movie before I finally got on board with it and began to appreciate what I was seeing. Until that point, it seemed like another predictable movie following lower-class youths -- too old to be kids, too feckless to be anything else.

The story opens in the wake of a riot in which police put a kid in the hospital. His friends are indignant and haven't got much else to do other than to get themselves more worked up about it. I really enjoyed the rhythm of the movie...the way in which they make plans and get sidetracked and seem to "oh yeah" collectively to get back on track -- just seemed so familiar without being too scripted.

Parts of it didn't work but, over all, it's a powerful film that took me completely by surprise.

B+