La Haine is truly essential viewing that hasn’t aged a day. With his bathroom scene becoming one of the most referenced and celebrated moments in cinematic history. His overt, but hollow, confidence and aspirations of being a respected gangster presents a fascinating discussion on masculinity and fear. All three put across exceptional and unique performances but it is, of course, Vincent Cassel’s iconic portrayal of Vinz that has been immortalised forever. Which injects the film’s overt aggression with a deeply nuanced conversation on systemic oppression and police brutality. Their approaches to what has taken place differ entirely, only adding frustration on top of frustration. Who took part in, or were directly affected by the riots the night before. A North-African Muslim, an Afro-French boxer and a young Jewish man with a desire to be respected as a gangster. This world belongs to the trio of Saïd (Saïd Taghmaoui), Hubert (Hubert Koundé) and Vinz (Vincent Cassel). All of which presents the world of these protagonists in a stark, monochrome, hopelessness. Furthermore the stark black and white presentation resembles Parisian classics such as Godard’s Breathless or Truffaut’s The 400 Blows. The towering, sprawling suburb functioning as a micro-society, left behind in the ignorance of the grandiose metropolis seen in the film’s second half. A city that is rife with hostility, always on the brink of eruption. As it reveals a Paris far removed from the romanticised cinematic landscape so regularly presented to us. Its narrative is compact and expertly paced, rumbling forward like a ticking time-bomb.
Following three friends as they process what took place and what happens next? A rough estate trying to put itself back together the night after a violent riot is the epicentre for the film’s fury. Tensions have come to a boiling point against the rise of police brutality, and on the streets of Paris, the people rioted. La Haine takes place the day after the night before. Like the classics that inspired it such as, Mean Streets and Do the Right Thing, it’s a film that is just as, if not more relevant now than upon its initial release. Wowing, challenging and punching audiences in the face since its premiere at Cannes, where it won best director for Kassovitz and introduced leading man Vincent Cassel to the wider world. Mathieu Kassovitz’s furious, powerhouse La Haine is now in its 25th year.
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