DVD Review - District 13

I was pleasantly surprised to find that the plot of District 13 (original French title Banlieue 13) is a little more interesting than the average martial arts action flick. Not that its Seven Samurai or anything of that calibre, but nevertheless there is a concerted effort to touch on several resonant themes. Foremost of those is the divide between rich and poor, or perhaps more specifically, the middle-class and the underprivileged.

District 13 itself is a walled off area of an alternate Paris, set in 2010 (remember this film is from 2004, so that was still a little way off then rather than a few months). The reason for this isolation is a rising crime rate which the authorities are unable to deal with: instead, they shut themselves off, hoping to restrict criminal elements to containable ghettoes.

The BBC World Service recently ran a program on South Africa as part of its 'Islands' series, with a focus on the rise of high-security residential compounds. This in effect creates 'islands' cordoned off from the world outside, a perhaps understandable action in as dangerous a place as South Africa.

On the other hand, as the presenter discussed, this has unpleasant echoes of apartheid. Rather than attempting to integrate, those who can afford to simply disengage, hiding from their erstwhile neighbours out of fear for their property and their lives.

I can entirely sympathise with that attitude, having been a victim of crime myself a few times, but it does raise those uncomfortable questions: is the best way to deal with crime to try and shut out the poor who are perceived as responsible, or is this giving up on society?

District 13 explores that question through the character of Leito (played by David Belle) a resident trying to do the right thing. He wants to clear his area of drugs and crime, but gets no help from the outside world: police stations and schools have been closed down. As he says later in the film, "is it my fault I was born here?" Leito and the rest of district 13 have been condemned to poverty and crime, without even the possibility of one day escaping through education. Clearly the filmmakers are trying to make a point, as becomes ever clearer as the plot unfolds.

Social commentary aside, this is an action film, and a beautifully choreographed one at that. It is French, and perhaps unsurprisingly, therefore benefits from the French sport of parkour, also known as free running. David Belle demonstrates his mastery of parkour early on (he happens to be the guy who invented it in the first place), with a chase scene reminiscent of that other major exhibition of free running two years later, Casino Royale (featuring another of parkour's founders, Sébastien Foucan).

Alongside Leito, another acrobatic protagonist is introduced, this time a policeman, Captain Damien Tomaso. The man of law is just as talented as the man of the street, though his training is more clearly in martial arts rather than parkour. The actor who plays him, Cyril Raffaelli (also credited as the film's choreographer, something he's done plenty of times before), is somebody I recognised from an excellent Jet Li film, Kiss of the Dragon. He is just as good in this, flipping and kicking his way through hordes of assailants.

That also sets up the old dynamic between the law-abiding cop and his streetwise guide through the world of the ghetto. Equally clichéd is the use of the Ultimate Fighting Championship as the epitome of violence, a rather outdated concept by this point. Admittedly, the clip they show the head antagonist watching is one of the most violent moments in UFC history, when Tank Abbott knocked out Steve Nelmark in Ultimate Ultimate '96.

District 13 delivers not one but two impressively talented physical performers in roles that fully explore their abilities. Great action sequences and a bit of social commentary make for an entertaining watch. Definitely worth your while.