3. La Haine
Matthieu Kassovitz's searing portrayal of Paris' difficult cultural milieu - between races, faiths and classes - makes for one of the most intense and visceral cinematic experiences of any kind. When a young Arab boy winds up brutally wounded in hospital, skinhead Vinz (Vincent Cassel) vows to raise Hell if he dies, a point that hangs over the entire film, a bleak reminder that even during the film's amusing dialogues and Taxi Driver impressions, it is forever heading in one direction, one that won't benefit anybody. Kassovitz's evocative monochrome photography helps to cement the film's central concern, how the black-and-white viewpoints of the characters, unable to uncloud their judgement, is ultimately what becomes their undoing. Encompassing the troubling social issues of France with commentary on mass media consumption, La Haine is one of France's most socially and emotionally resonant films, one that still rings tellingly true even today.