Mathieu Kassovitz (director)
BFI (studio)
15 (certificate)
98 min (length)
23 November 2020 (released)
26 November 2020
“So far, so good… How you fall doesn’t matter, it’s how you land.” This exclamation sets the tone for the film right from the start while also serving as the briefest, yet most poignant of epilogues. Although released 25 years ago, LA HAINE (HATE) remains as powerful now as it was back then – chronicling the lives of three Parisian immigrant friends over the course of one day after they get together following a race riot.
Despite its general feel of grit and violence it must be pointed out that LA HAINE certainly has its moments of pitch-black humour.
Inspired by the real life event of Makome M’Bowole, a young Zairian who was killed at point blank range while in police custody handcuffed to a radiator, the film begins with footage depicting violent riots in a poverty-stricken suburb (called ‘banlieue’) of Paris. Reason for the riots is the brutal treatment and consequent hospitalization of young immigrant Abdel – in turn leading to clashes between protesters and police and to an attack on the local police station during which one of the police officers loses his revolver without noticing it.
In the aftermath three of Abdel’s friends, all stemming from immigrant families, get together. They are Hubert (Hubert Koundé) – an Afro-French boxer and small-time drug peddler who dreams of a better life away from his current surroundings, Vinz (Vincent Cassell) – a young guy of Jewish descent whose aggressive temper tends to get the better of him and Said (Said Taghmaoui) – a North African Muslim who tries to calm the on-going friction between loose cannon Vinz and the more diplomatically inclined Hubert (who thinks that provoking the ‘flics’ will only lead to more bloodshed). Vinz, on the contrary, fancies himself as a Robert De Niro-type character like in ‘Taxi Driver’ and vows to avenge his friend Abdel should he die… Worse still, Vinz is the very person now in the possession of the 44 Magnum which the riot policeman had lost.
We follow the friends, all of them without a job, as they try and pad out another day in their humdrum lives. Hubert, although a keen amateur boxer with big aspirations, has currently nowhere to practice since the local boxing gym was burned down during the riots. Said amuses himself with painting foulmouthed graffiti on parked police vehicles while Vinz never snaps out of uttering foul-mouthed threats although Hubert reckons that he’s all mouth and no action. This leads to a temporary fallout between them – especially after a run-in with guards during an attempt to visit Abdel in hospital. Hubert temporarily returns home to his Mum and little sister before joining his two friends again. Soon, they’re aimlessly drifting through familiar territory and not just geographically speaking! Trouble seems to follow wherever they go. In Vinz’s case, he’s actually looking for trouble. As the hours tick away they encounter a strange old man in a public toilet who reveals an even stranger story from his past, followed by more confrontations with the law. A visit to cocaine addict ‘Asterix’ (Francois Levantal) almost ends in disaster after a bout of Russian roulette and thanks to another run-in with a plainclothes cop the friends miss the last metro back home. Gate-crashing an art gallery only results in Vinz making a nuisance of himself and afterwards they successfully break into a car though none of them can actually drive! Once again the cops turn up and the rebels run into more trouble when a gang of skinheads turn up. Waiting in a shopping mall for the Metro to open, 24/7 media screens report that Abdel has died in hospital, leading to the film’s devastating conclusion…
Although the story’s specific setting is undoubtedly of its time and laced with hip hop and reggae or rather, the sound of resistance, the topic of police brutality against ethnic minorities remains timeless and in the wake of the recent BLM movement all the more important. This is a Paris that’s galaxies away from the elegant boulevards and tourist attractions and where the slogan ‘Hate breeds Hate’ rings loud and clear for everyone to hear.
As part of the film’s 25th Anniversary, BFI releases the 4K restored LA HAINE as a Limited 2-Disc set (5,000 copies only) with an array of Special Features including interview with cast and crew, audio commentary, feature length docu, various trailers, 80-page booklet and three arresting short films by director Kassovitz which lay the roots for ‘La Haine’.
Gripping and compelling and a must for all those who appreciate a bit of controversy!