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La Haine (1995)

★★★½ — La Haine (1995)

Mathieu Kassovitz was twenty-seven when he made La Haine, working from a script inspired directly by the 1993 death of Makomé M'Bowolé, a young man shot by Paris police during questioning. The film arrived at a genuinely charged moment in French politics, with suburban tensions around the banlieues having simmered for years, and its black-and-white cinematography (a deliberate, low-cost choice that also lent it a newsreel authority) helped it stand apart from the glossier French cinema of the period. Shot largely on location in Chanteloup-les-Vignes, the production was modest by any measure, though it went on to gross nearly six times its budget. Kassovitz won Best Director at Cannes that year, and the film effectively launched Vincent Cassel as an international name.

First time I watched this I loved it. I was stoned. 2nd time I watched this with my girlfriend was many years later as an adult. Honestly? It's quite boring. Very little really actually happens. Vincent really isn't a likeable character either. I find myself not rooting for him at all. Hubert's character is great and all feels very "Boyz n the hood" as a character trying to escape the surroundings they grew up in only to ultimately fall victim to it. The story is still relevant today as it was back then, it's just a little slow to build.

Rating: ★★★½ | Year: 1995 | Watched: 2025-04-13

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Where to watch (UK)

Stream: BFI Player · BFI Player Amazon Channel · BFI Player Apple TV Channel
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Physical: Amazon UK

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Related on Movies With Macca

More from Mathieu Kassovitz: Rebellion (2011)
More with Vincent Cassel: Black Swan (2010)
More from France: Fantastic Planet (1973) · Letter from Siberia (1957) · Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Here and Elsewhere (1976)
More from the 1990s: Lessons of Darkness (1992) · Shinjuku Boys (1995) · Blue (1993) · Cemetery Man (1994)
More drama: Viy (1967) · Wonder (2017) · A Better Tomorrow (1986) · Beautiful Boy (2018)

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