Over 30 years ago, La Haine, directed by Mathieu Kassovitz, emerged as one of the most influential and eye-opening films, highlighting police brutality in the suburbs of France. Now, three decades later, La Haine (1995) has stood the test of time. The film’s social commentary on marginalised communities still resonates with our current political climate.
The film’s title, La Haine, meaning “hatred”, exemplifies the nature of the projects during the 90s and establishes the film’s setting before the audience can establish it for themselves. Even from the opening scene, the sound of Bob Marley & The Wailers’ Burnin’ and Lootin’ playing over powerful, raw footage of riots places the film’s overarching themes; social inequality, police brutality, and overall hatred, directly to the viewer. This opening sequence shows real riots that took place in the French banlieues (suburbs) in the 1980s against the backdrop of police corruption, racism and violence.
La Haine takes place over the course of one day and follows three friends from various religious and ethnic backgrounds living in a housing project in the French suburbs. A Jewish man, Vinz (Vincent Cassel), Hubert, a Black man (Hubert Koundé), and Saïd, an Arab man (Saïd Taghmaoui), spend 24 hours together the day after their friend, Abdel, is left comatose during a riot against police brutality. The film documents the friends’ anger and contempt for the discrimination of ethnic communities in the suburbs as they seek vindication for Abdel.
Mathieu Kassovitz manages to make use of French New Wave cinematic techniques to create a contemporary, socially realistic film that captures the rebellious spirit of the New Wave aspects of the 50s. His choice to convert the film’s footage to black and white in post-production had a transformative effect on the film’s appearance, giving it a bleak, yet timeless feel.
Kassovitz manages to immerse the audience in the world of this poverty-stricken community, but the painful fact is, it does not take much to do so, as the world of this film still depicts the lives of many today. La Haine was relevant then, and continues to be relevant today, which is not only a testament to the film’s quality, but also a disturbing reflection of the endurance of racism, discrimination and the marginalisation of oppressed groups.
Part of what makes La Haine so thrilling to watch is the constant tension, which is exacerbated by the intercut images of a time stamp, along with the sound of a ticking clock. This film technique not only helps to situate the passing of time for the audience, but also accelerates the film towards an eventuality we can all see coming. “So far so good”, a line that is uttered throughout this film, is neither inherently positive nor negative. The trio of friends live by this phrase; it fuels their incentive to keep going, yet they understand that their situation can only be “so good” for a limited amount of time.
The theme of hate is reinforced by cinematographer Pierre Aïm’s compelling use of direct-to-camera shots, as well as steadicam shots and contra zooms, which stylistically capture the living situation of the three protagonists. Aïm manages to create a sense of unification in the housing projects and portray the feelings of the marginalised community by making revolutionary use of the overhead flying camera. This pioneering, high-angle perspective is the cinematic predecessor to what is universally known today as a drone shot. Kassovitz and Aïm manage to immerse the audience by employing visceral tracking shots that epitomise the claustrophobic reality of the French suburbs.
La Haine’s relevancy today confirms that the fundamental and systematic issues portrayed in this film have not yet been resolved 30 years after its release. The film’s enduring, timeless power is a devastating paradox: its relevance is an indicator that the systemic neglect it exposed three decades ago has been perpetuated by political inaction. This film was impactful in the past, remains impactful today, and will more than likely be so in the future. La Haine’s powerful warning of how “hatred breeds hatred” establishes a hopeless cycle of violence and devastation, which is shockingly confirmed in the final scene of the film.
The grim truth of this film was always apparent: the problem is not the “fall of society”, but rather the inescapable tragedy of the final “landing”.