La Haine
1995
Shot in black and white cinema verite style, this film follows a day in the life of three aimless, violence-prone, ethnically-diverse young men who hail from the same decaying housing project in Paris. Vinz, who is Jewish, is the angriest and the least intelligent of the three. North African Said is calmer, but is the most .. Read more
| Starring | Vincent Cassel, Hubert Kounde, Said Taghmaoui, Francois Levantal |
|---|---|
| Director | Mathieu Kassovitz |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
loading...
La Haine
Shot in black and white cinema verite style, this film follows a day in the life of three aimless, violence-prone, ethnically-diverse young men who hail from the same decaying housing project in Paris. Vinz, who is Jewish, is the angriest and the least intelligent of the three. North African Said is calmer, but is the most despairing about his future. Hubert is Black, and the most mature, channeling his rage through boxing. Although the trio seethes with fury over the arrest and senseless beating of an Arab friend, each manages to keep the other in check. But that changes after Vinz finds a loaded gun--and the trio becomes entangled with the police, and later a group of skinheads. Mathieu Kassovitz won the Best Director prize for LA HAINE at the Cannes Film Festival.
| Starring | Vincent Cassel, Hubert Kounde, Said Taghmaoui, Francois Levantal, Edouard Montoute, Karim Belkhadra, Andree Damant, Marc Duret, Peter Kassovitz, Mathieu Kassovitz, Vincent Lindon, Benoit Magimel, Joseph Momo, Philippe Nahon, Christophe Rossi |
|---|---|
| Director | Mathieu Kassovitz |
| Studio | Optimum |
| Run time | DVD: 1 hr 37 mins Blu-ray: 1 hr 38 mins HD DVD: 1 hr 37 mins |
| Certificate | |
| Genres | Drama, World Cinema |
| Language | French |
| Subtitles | English |
| Released | DVD: 19 Feb 2001 Blu-ray: 17 Aug 2009 HD DVD: 11 Dec 2006 Production year: 1995 |
| Format | DVD |
-
Critics' reviews (6)
View all -
Responsible for causing a scandal on its domestic release, this bruising portrait of disaffected youth confirmed its writer/director Mathieu Kassovitz as the wunderkind of French cinema. Presenting the housing schemes on the outskirts of Paris as hotbeds of racial hatred and social unrest, the film follows three lads from different ethnic backgrounds and explores how they spend their endless spare time and their response to a case of police brutality. Vincent Cassel is outstanding as the Jewish skinhead, but it's Kassovitz's restless camerawork and a script as funny as it is hard-hitting that make this such an impressive and important work.
-
"...Writer-director Mathieu Kassovitz (Cafe au Lait) mines so much tension and pointed dialogue from a low budget and deceptively simple premise..." -- 3 1/2 out of 4 stars
-
Most helpful member's review
View all -
43 out of 45 people found this review helpful
never blink - amazing!
"La Haine" is one of the best films made in the last 20 years. It requires attention to detail, though, and it's fully packed with messages and metaphors. It's not just about racism and social condition but also a representation of youth and its bigger questions. "The world is yours", seen frequently in the street banners throughout the film, contradicts the reality of what the youths expect life to offer them.
The camerawork is absolutely amazing, just try to keep an eye for how the camera moves and how the images follow each other, and how the sound is worked around them. The acting is amazing too, it leads us to believe that everyone is real, and I think it helped a lot that they didn't employ any major actors for the main parts.
There are many details to watch out for and some of them will only be understood by viewers with background knowledge on certain issues. But that's not important at all, the film is highly entertaining and punchy, as good if not better than most actions films. The violence is realistic and only shocking because it mirrors real situations.
Watch it twice, at least, and don't blink :) -
Most recent members' review
View all -
1 out of 1 person found this review helpful
The Greatest Film Ever Made.
It is the day after the riots on an underclass French estate. A youth named Abdel had been caught and beaten by the police and is now in critical condition. One of his very best friends, Vinz (Jewish), had found a cop's weapon. He swears that if Abdel dies he will kill a cop. The majority of the film revolves around Vinz and his two other friends Hubert (Afro-Caribbean) and Saïd (North African) roaming around their ghetto and suburbs of Paris. Set just within 24 hours, this is just a glimpse of the chaos.
Starkly shot in black and white; La Haine has one of my favourite cinematography works. Kassovitz directional style is so inspirational, using rocketing zooms and smooth swerves to get the full view of the destruction. Popular hip hop music is used and heard throughout the film, none of it I would listen to unless I was watching La Haine. The film shows a side of France you can not find on a tourist map. Passion, dedication and effort was well put forward to La Haine. It punches you in the face with its sheer, raw intensity.
La Haine proves that hatred is in fact the strongest emotion. One of the greatest films of the 90s and of all-time; if there was one perfect film; it would be La Haine. -
News and features
View all
Cassel to take on crime role
- 05 Oct 2005
French actor Vincent Cassel is to appear in two new films in the role of real-life thief Jacques Mesrine. Mesrine was a renowned robber who specialised in cunning heists, elaborate disguises and womanising. Cassel's most recent role came in Ocean's Twelve, and he will again return to the shady world of crime in the films Death Instinct and Public Enemy Number One. The films are to be directed by Jean-Francois Richet, who this year made the Assault On Precinct 13 re-make, which starred Ja Rule,... Read more
-
More like this
View all
Related user collection
cool films from around the world (30)
72.6% from 23 members
